Yet Hope Still Remains
by halstead
Summary: AU. Sirius arrived at Godrics Hollow first on Halloween 1981 and took Harry Potter before Hagrid arrived. Now everyone thinks Sirius has turned evil, taken Remus with him and that Harry has been lost forever. If only they knew what a mistake they made...
1. Live to Fight Another Day

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

FULL SUMMARY: AU, On the 31st October 1981 something happened that changed the course of the world forever. Two extremely powerful wizards clashed though one didn't know it and fates were changed, destiny's ruined by the events that transpired on that fateful night. A child, no a baby affected the lives of the entire Wizarding World. But he disappeared, taken by Sirius Black, who everyone thought betrayed the boy's parents, and Remus Lupin, thought to of been persuaded by Black to turn against everyone he knew, yet everyone can be wrong. This is a story of Love, Power, Betrayal, and Redemption. This is a tale about Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, the potential saviour of the Wizarding World but feared lost and corrupted, its funny how wrong everyone can be!

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AN: Hi, this is my first story! I hope you enjoy the summary above, don't worry this story won't be as serious (no pun intended) as the summary makes it out to be. I decided to write this story, as there are very few of these types of stories and most are either never finished, very short or updated about once a year. A big mention must go to WolfMoon whose "After the Dawn" story (still ongoing) is brilliant and I can only hope my story can be as good as hers, if you like these types of stories go read hers, (after mine that is) lol.

and thoughts in _Italics._

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Yet Hope Still Remains

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Chapter One: Live to Fight Another Day

October 31st 1981

Halloween, the scariest night of the year, and Sirius Black felt something was dreadfully wrong. He was sitting in a Muggle Pub in Cardiff, The Welsh Rabbit chatting to his date, the 86th one this year lucky enough to be with him yet all he could think of was "_James, Lily and Harry_". Oh how he loved all three of them; they were the family he never had. Oh he had family if you can call Pureblood fanatic, Muggle hating, people family. Family who despised everything about him and were not afraid to tell him so as they had many a time. No, James, Lily, Harry, Remus, even Peter to an extent were his family, though Sirius at times hated the whining little rat who at times just tagged along.

Then it came again that feeling like someone has just thrown ice cold water over you, Sirius visibly shuddered, and suddenly gasped, he suddenly figured it out, and the realisation hit him like a bludger at full speed.

"Peter!" He gasped out loud, and immediately using his 21-year-old auror training reflexes was on his feet to leave the warm local inn, hoping something was not wrong with his friend.

"Sirius, where are you going, what's wrong" His cute date, a pretty 23 year old local girl, who had no idea about the world of magic and was just enjoy the handsome young mans company.

"Gotta go, call you later" Sirius shouted on his way out and with that he was gone, gone to see whether his mind was just playing tricks on him and everything is fine, Peter is safe, James, Lily and Harry are safe and he can lay his mind at ease.

Sirius pulled a miniature object out of his pocket, which on closer inspection turned out to be a model bike and with a quick flick of his wand and a muttered "_Engorgio_" a gleaming black motorcycle was standing in front of Sirius. He had no time today to stop and admire his pride and joy, quickly jumped on, said a few choice words and stepped on the accelerator then the motorbike was away, invisible and flying through the night sky, towards its nearby destination, Peter Pettigrew's flat.

It only took Sirius 5 minutes to get there and as soon as he did, he banged on the door and his sense of foreboding increased a notch bringing the tension around him to unseen levels. Seeing no ones home, everything clicked into place and Sirius nearly broke down then but " _Griffindors don't cry_" Sirius muttered to himself and he hopped on his bike and sped off towards Godric's Hollow. He was hoping to get there in time, praying that dirty, lying rat and more importantly Voldemort hadn't gotten to them first. Sirius would of apparated but remembered that he could only apparate a mile away from the cottage so he thought that he could fly quicker as Peter, no Wormtail's flat was only 6 or 7 miles away from Godric's Hollow.

As Sirius got near to the cottage and got his first glimpse of the place that was a second home to him he nearly fell off his bike right then at the shock of it. It looked like one of those nuclear things the muggles were always threatening each other with had hit the cottage. The whole thing was destroyed and as Sirius got closer and saw the carnage first hand he landed and had to swallow the bile rising in his throat as he saw the dead body of his best friend, hell his unofficial brother lying there all pale. He looked frozen in time with a look of sadness on his face. Sirius nearly collapsed but stood his ground as the overwhelming stench of burning and the vile taste of death wafted through the air. "_Lily, Harry_" Sirius desperately thought as he willed his legs with all his might to move through the wreckage to find his other beloved friend and godson. It was then Sirius in his world of his own nearly slipped on something, James's wand lay 20 foot away from his body in what use to be the sitting room. " _Fat lot of good it did you Prongs old buddy_" was Sirius's first thought but he still picked it up and pocketed it, just wanting to hold on to something of James's forever.

It was then as he moved through the slightly burning wreckage looking for the other two bodies as that is all they can be as no one has ever survived duelling with Voldemort except Albus Dumbledore, that Sirius nearly died of a heart attack, he heard a baby crying.

"HARRY" Sirius screamed out loud as with renewed vigour ploughed through the wreckage; all magic forgotten in his search for his Godson, praying to whomever was listening that he through some miracle is alive and well.

It suddenly went all quiet as if Harry realised that help was on its way and as Sirius stepped in to the room that was obviously once Harry's, which was now situated on the ground floor. Sirius then saw a sight that made his blood run cold for the second time that hour. There lay Lily Potter beautiful as ever, lying in exactly the same position her husband is, the same look in her eye which tells Sirius that there were at least two successful "_Avada Kedavra_" curses were fired that night. Sirius then looked past Lily to about 10 feet behind her where he saw Harry James Potter wrapped in his baby blanket, his green eyes shining, slightly chubby face pulled in a big grin when he saw Sirius. What Sirius failed to notice in his rush to greet his Godson was a pile of black robes in the corner of the room with a pile of ash on top. This was all that remained of the self-proclaimed Lord Voldemort who had suffered the biggest setback imaginable that day.

"PAHFOT!" Harry shrieked in delight at seeing his Godfather, and deciding it was worth the effort to try and walk over to him. Sirius though had already closed the gap between the two of them and picked his Godson up and clung to him like his life depended on it.

"There, there Harry, it going to be just fine. " whispered Sirius to the 15-month old baby he held who had no idea that his parents had just been killed by the most evil wizard in centuries. Sirius also had no idea that he was holding what was going to be the most talked about wizard ever.

It was then as Harry shouted "PAHFOT" again using one of the few words he knew in his expanding vocabulary, that Sirius finally got a proper look at his Godson. To his horror found in the centre of his forehead was a lightning bolt scar that was dripping with blood. " _How in the name of Merlin did he get that_" was all that Sirius could think as he wiped away the blood off Harry's head.

Just as he was about to leave the once cottage, Sirius heard three soft pops meaning that three people had just apparated close by. Peeking his head out from behind a half standing wall he saw three men dressed in all black robes and wearing white masks signifying one thing, Death Eaters. Sirius quickly cast a muttered silencing spell on Harry and laid him doing in his crib which somehow survived the blast. He was going to die before any of these cretins touched Harry. Taking another look out from behind his hiding place Sirius quickly saw that the three men were talking very heatedly in whispers about something. One of them blatantly the leader, a slim tall man was issuing the other two, two big wide muscular looking men with instruction witch Sirius could just about make out. They were along the lines of "See all of the filth are dead and see if you can see our lord anywhere". Sirius quickly changed into his animagus form, a big black grim like dog and crept silently out towards the three wizards. He'd have to catch them by surprise or no matter how good Moody tells him he can be after beating him every time in Auror training, three on one was too high an odds to mess around with especially with Harry still in the building. Using the darkness Sirius crept to within 15 foot to the side of one of the two goons and instantly changing into his human form murmured

"Stupefy, Stupefy" in quick succession changing the aim of his wand slightly once he had said the first incantation as Lump one and Lump two fell to the floor with sound thuds. The other man whirled around quickly and Sirius quickly sent off another stunner, which the man just let hit him in the chest took two steps backwards and shook his head a bit as the stunner had no effect on him.

"Black" the man snarled and removed his mask; "Remember Me" Lucius Malfoy said with a smirk on his well-defined aristocratic face.

"Malfoy" Sirius sneered matching Malfoy's hatred " Let me guess who your two goons are then, Crabbe and Goyle, can they actually use a wand or do they just pick their nose with it"

"Black I could kill you where I stood right now and you couldn't do nothing about it you sorry excuse for a pureblood" Malfoy taunted with venom in his voice but Sirius was not affected.

" Oh Lucius, Lucius, Lucius do you ever come up with any original sayings, no actually I don't think you do, he is one for you, never mess with Sirius Orion DOLEO EXCRUCIO". Sirius ended screaming out the pain curse that would normally send the opposing wizard into convulsions within seconds when hit but Lucius shock evident on his face dropped to the ground just in time rolled to the side and shouted

"Seco" Sirius had barely time to put up a shield before the severing curse came hurling into his wand arm. "This needs to end now thought" Sirius, "_I need to beat Lucius, get Harry and when someone else arrives tell them what really happened_". Sirius had an idea. He could send a harmless curse at Lucius who would easily wave it aside but if he sent two curses after that in quick succession without Lucius hearing them he'd be sure to win. As if there was anything to criticise about Lucius Malfoy was that the man was the most arrogant man he'd ever met and that's saying something Sirius snorted too himself as he remained a certain greasy haired git he had known for a long while. There was only one flaw in the plan though, the lower volume you spoke the curse, the more power and concentration it required and few wizards could speak a curse lower than human hearing range when the other person was only 20 foot away. As Sirius was in the middle of a duel and was in the process of one of the longest days in his life, he didn't know whether he'd be able to do it but one thought about Harry and his safety and Sirius resolved himself, he'd attempt it for Harry.

"Fernunculus" shouted Sirius in a determined voice and then seconds after drawing on all his power hoping that this time the stunner would work mumbled almost silently "Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus" hoping and praying with all his might as his vision shook and black spots surrounded it that this would work.

"Well Black, using 3rd year charms are we now, I always thought you were a useless excuse for a Black, how you came from the same family as such great people I will never know, oh well, I don't care as you won't be around much longer. When My Lord is ruling the world you and your mudblood and mudblood loving friends will be the first to go well second after you ADAVA KED…."

Malfoy then slumped to the ground in a state of semi-unconsciousness as the curse was not at full power and as Malfoy was a powerful wizard and then a second later he went as rigid as a board falling to the floor as the full-body bind took effect. Sirius who by now had made it 10 foot nearer to the house making unsteady steps on his woozy legs as his body was magically exhausted. "_Malfoy would only be knocked out for about 15 minutes_," Sirius thought to himself, so He was going to get Harry and get away from here, he would tell his story to Dumbeldore and the Ministry tomorrow.

When Sirius entered the house he saw Harry who was sitting by his Mothers body pulling on her hair in an attempt to wake her up. He was obviously trying to say something but as Sirius still had him under the silencing spell all he was doing was opening and closing his mouth. Sirius quickly undone the spell and was met with Harry saying

"MUM" over and over again trying to awaken his now dead mum. That nearly broke Sirius heart right then and a tear rolled down the handsome mans cheeks. "_God_", Sirius thought to himself, he hadn't even cried when his mum had kicked him out of the Black Manner aged 16 and he was left him to fend for himself. He walked over to his Godson who had just realised Sirius was back in the room and picked the boy up into his muscular arms.

"It's all right Harry, it's going to be alright" Sirius whispered again in a whisper as the reality had finally sunk in. "Prongs, Lily" Sirius managed to choke out in a heartfelt murmur. Then he remembered where he was and who were lurking around and Sirius taking one last look at Lily and James and his second home, then holding Harry tight to him walked across the grounds to where his bike stood. Sirius now barely coherent and struggling to stay on his feet with the added weight of Harry. With one last effort Sirius got on his bike and Holding Harry in his arms while the bike raised up in the air and started to take them home to Sirius's flat. Sirius at that moment had only two thoughts on his mind "_Harry and I'm glad I charmed the bike to take me home automatically on command_"

Meanwhile Hagrid hurriedly portkeyed to Godric's Hollow to check on the Potters on Professor Dumbledore's utmost urgency as Dumbledore like most other powerful wizards felt the huge torrent of raw magical energy released that night and he had a feeling it was to do with Lily and James Potter. But Hagrid had not in his wildest dreams expected this. It looked like a whole population of rampaging Hippograffs had been through the place where Godric's Hollow once stood. Hagrid cautiously made his way to the once cottage, pink umbrella clasped tightly in his hand. Hagrid almost fainted of shock when he saw James Potters body and when he saw Lily's beautiful figure portraying the same look, the look every light wizard in this age feared coming home to. Hagrid hurried through the rest of the cottage, tears running down his bushy face as he searched for the third member of the Potter family. He was hoping with all his might that little Harry, who Hagrid came to see just last month was alive, although deep down he knew these hopes were futile. When he couldn't find Harry all Hagrid could think of was "_If those Death Eaters kidnapped Harry I'll hunt every last one of them down and kill them one by one with my bare hands_."

It was then on his way out of the grounds back to where his Portkey lay, an old Muggle boot that he saw a person on a flying motorcycle fly off the grounds with a little bundle in his arms. "_Sirius_" Hagrid thought, as the boy was the only person Hagrid has ever known who rides a flying motorcycle. "_Harry must have been the bundle_," Hagrid thought joyfully as he picked up the Portkey and as he was pulled at the navel and the familiarity of Portkey travel overtook him he was not looking forward to reporting to Professor Dumbeldore his findings.

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A/N

How did you like it? Please RandR and tell me if this idea is worth continuing? Also give me ideas, only the basic plot is done. The average chapter lengths should be between 3,000 and 8,000 and each chapter should hopefully get longer.

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Cheers 

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Halstead


	2. Burning Bridges

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter dedicated to CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur my first reviewer

Chapter 2: Burning Bridges

31st October 1981

Albus Dumbeldore sat with his head in his hands sitting at his large desk in his wide circular office surrounded by wizarding portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unlike muggle pictures though all of these portraits could speak and think of their own accord. Yet it was a silent as a tomb as Albus sat with his head in his hands waiting for Hagrid to arrive back from the Potters cottage where Albus felt that the ultimate betrayal had just happened. Oh how could he of been so stupid, everyone in the Order of the Phoenix knew that there was a spy close to the Potters and had been for months as any move they made, Voldemort was already one step ahead of them. But Sirius Black, "_he loved James, Lily and Harry like no one else_" but the facts were staring Albus in the face. Sirius was their secret keeper; the only way Voldemort could find the Potters was if the secret keeper told him the location. When tonight he was alerted to the fact that the wards surrounding Godric's Hollow had been brought down, he couldn't believe it, that Sirius would betray James like that.

Suddenly there was a knocking on his large bronze double doors to his office which while deep in thought Albus had lost focus on. "_It must be Hagrid_," he thought to himself as he prepared himself for the upcoming conversation. Over the years Albus had acquired many talents and amongst them was almost a sixth sense of what was going to happen and now one lonely word was floating through his mind "_death_".

"Come in Hagrid, bad news I assume?" Albus automatically assessed as he saw the distraught mixed with the slightest hint of joy on the face of his gamekeeper and long time friend although the joy part confused him somewhat.

"Oh, Albus it was horrible, there was destruction everywhere, the whole cottage destroyed. James, Lily…" Hagrid spoke in his thick bushy accent and trailed off letting his words hang in the air as he broke down and started weeping profusely.

"Oh, Hagrid I was correct, it was as I had feared, Voldemort has finally caught up with the Potters. But was there anything else you need to mention" Albus calmly asked while is eyes no longer holding his famous twinkle bore into Hagrid's beetle black eyes.

"How can I have been so forgetful, you will never guess, lil' Harry and Sirius Black survived somehow, it's a miracle" Hagrid said, the tone of joy in his voice equal to that of the look on his face previously.

"Go, on Hagrid" Albus calmly stated in an even tone though he did not like the way in that this conversation was going and it was going to get worse.

"Alright then, I had just arrived with the Portkey and saw the destruction of the cottage and cautiously made my way over to where the cottage once was, as it had been literally destroyed. Then just as I had finished searching and found no sign of Harry. I was just about leaving the grounds when I saw a flying motorcycle take off from the ground driving itself while the man on board was holding a bundle in his arms like it was going to break. I immediately went back to double check the house and grounds to check for Harry in case he wasn't what Sirius was holding but I found no trace of him in the building or on the grounds so I Portkeyed back. How did Harry and Sirius survive, You-Know-Who doesn't show any mercy? Why didn't he kill them?" Hagrid asked, confusion in his voice after voicing the last part of his question.

"Hagrid did you see anything weird as you were in or around the Potter residence" Albus asked not knowing whether the answer be good or bad.

"As a matter of fact I did, for one there was no Dark Mark which puzzled me greatly and near Lily's body was a dark black robe with a pile of ashes on top. Why is that important?" Hagrid said puzzled not knowing that he was talking about the remains of Voldemort himself.

"Alas Hagrid, I fear to know the answer to your questions yet other people need to be present to hear its answer. Please go and get Severus and Minerva and meet me here as soon as you can. Tell them this is of the utmost emergency and please don't mention any of our conversation to them including the fact that Lily and James are not with us any longer." Albus told Hagrid in a tone full of urgency yet so dead and flat. All Albus could think at that present moment was "_it is my fault, I should have been their secret keeper, if I had only insisted more then two great people would not be dead and a baby in the hands of a murdering traitor_."

After Hagrid had hurriedly departed from his office to find the Head of Griffindor and Slytherin House Albus rose and went to the fireplace where he fire called Remus Lupin and told him to get to his office and that the password was Ice Mice as fast as he could. The dreaded look that Remus gave him seeing the look on his face and the tone of his voice chilled Albus to the bone. "_I am getting old_" he thought as he made the way back to his desk waiting the arrival of the staff and Remus for what would be one of the hardest meetings of Albus's life. He could see all their reactions as if he was a seer. Remus would be disbelieving, Severus would just say that he knew Black was no good for anything, Minerva would be shocked and Hagrid well he would have to use all of his persuasion to stop Hagrid starting a one man hunt for Sirius Black.

This time Albus was alerted as he felt the ward that he set on his gargoyle that protects his office activate as someone had given the correct password and by now would be on the way up to his office. Just by listening Albus could tell that Hagrid was successful in his attempt to find Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. Just as he heard them step off the staircase he said

"Come in and please have a seat." His voice betraying no emotion of how he felt.

"Albus are you alright?" Minerva asked in a concerned tone as she saw the state that her long time friend was in. It was not often that she saw Albus Dumbledore in this state.

"Alas Minerva no I am not, yet all will be explained when our last guest arrives." Albus replied.

"Albus." Severus said in a even manner upon following Minerva into Dumbledore office and sitting down in an armchair after a wave of the hand by Albus created three and a much larger version for what Severus could only assume was Hagrid the bumbling oaf. The oaf had stumbled into his dungeons distracting Severus while he was delicately stirring his latest potion destroying hours of work. Something had obviously upset the oaf and Severus had to strain his ears to hear him. Something about Albus, an important meeting and urgent. He reluctantly followed and stepped outside the dungeons when he noticed Minerva waiting. This must be important Severus had thought at the time but seeing the look on Albus's face Severus knew that this meeting would be a lot more important than any one else thought.

"Who is this final guest Albus?" Minerva asked, as she had to be getting back to marking the 6th year Ravenclaw essays.

"Remus Lupin, Minerva, Remus Lupin." Albus replied with the look of someone who was a million miles away from here.

"_Hallelujah, bloody great, just the person that I want to be meeting with, the bloke that tried to eat me while spending the full moon as a werewolf_". Severus thought with a look of disgust plastered on his sneering face. "_At least it isn't Black or Potter_" Severus cynically thought.

Just then there was a knock on the bronze doors and Albus haphazardly called 

"Enter Remus" in a sad yet empty voice.

Remus Lupin entered his threadbare robes worn down precariously thin in places while wearing a pair of old muggle black trousers. The thing that most stood out regarding his appearance was his favourite gift ever after that of the gift of friendship as a werewolf never has many friends but Remus was lucky he thought having two of the best friends in the world. A black dragon hide jacket a present from Sirius for being in Sirius's words "_the best Moony a person could have." The_ expensive jacket gleamed bright in the lights of Albus's office as worry lines etched his handsome features and his chestnut brown hair with streaks of grey flopped around on his head. When he spoke it was with the most sad, depressed tone that all in the room had ever heard, it was one that could crush hopes and destroy dreams.

"It has happened has it not," Remus said looking at Albus who merely looked grim and nodded his head "James, Lily, Harry, Sirius, my god, VOLDEMORT I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!" Remus screamed and the normally cool character was now on the verge of hysterics as Hagrid sniffed loudly dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

"Is it true Albus?" Minerva asked solemnly, her eyes red and puffy " Did Voldemort get the Potters and Sirius Black"

"Yes and No Minerva, Yes and No. James and Lily Potter were both killed tonight at the hands of Lord Voldemort who I believe now has been defeated by Young Harry Potter" Albus replied ready for the fanfare that was bound to follow this statement.

"What do you mean Albus, that a one-year-old defeated Lord Voldemort. You have gone nuts," Severus said to the Headmaster looking at him as though he was crazy and speaking to him in a tone that he would never usually of taken with the man.

"Albus, you are surely wrong." Minerva echoing Severus's statements from ten seconds ago.

"Albus, cut the riddles, if Harry defeated Voldemort and did not die what happened to him, is he here? Furthermore where is Sirius, you haven't mentioned him once. I want answers dammit" Remus bellowed at the headmaster who had visibly sagged behind his desk making him appear to be even more ancient than he is.

"Lupin, calm your tongue or I'll do it for you!" Severus told the werewolf with a look of utmost hatred on his face.

"Snivellus who asked you, shouldn't you be kissing your masters robes or torturing some muggles hell if you have nothing better to do you might as well go wash your hair." Lupin with a look matching Severus's hatred using his position in the Order to know that Snape was in fact a spy for the light.

"Why you filthy werewolf" Severus shouted drawing his wand and Lupin followed suit. " I'll send you to see your dead friends if you say one more word. Not that the Potters didn't get what they deserved." Severus taunted but by judging the look on Lupin's face he had gone too far and quickly raised his wand in an attempt to stun the man. It was too no avail thoughts before he could even start the incantation he was picked up and Remus using his werewolf-enhanced strength threw Severus 20 foot backward into the side wall of the office before Albus or Minerva could even react. When he came to his senses Dumbledore froze them both and Hagrid who had raised out of seat with inhuman speed and was about to commit murder on Severus Snape with a flick of the wand and stood up. There was an aura of power about him now that made Minerva take a step back.

  
"Severus, Remus I am terribly disappointed in the pair of you but this isn't the time or place. Now where I was before I was terribly interrupted was that Harry and Sirius are indeed both alive. Hagrid saw them himself but this has only led me to one conclusion, that Sirius was the spy and has been passing information to Voldemort for months and then after becoming Secret Keeper sold the Potters out to Voldemort. Then after the defeat of his master kidnapped Harry. Whether he plans to kill Harry or seeing his power train him to serve the Dark I don't know. Now I will let the three of you go and we will rationally discuss what we are going to do following Harry's kidnapping and Sirius's betrayal. If you so much as make a move to harm one another you will be sorry." Albus simply stated his voice sounding as cold as ice after that last statement. Then with a flick of his wand the three men or one vampire look alike, one werewolf and a half-giant were released from the bodybind.

The three men just stood there in utter shock for moments while Minerva was leaning on the wall for support after hearing the revelation that Albus had to offer along with his thoughts. Remus was the first to recover his wits and after the initial hurt crossed his face anger no white-hot fury was present on his face, as he comprehended what Albus had just told them.

"NO, YOUR WRONG, SIRIUS WOULDN'T DO IT. HE LOVED JAMES, LILY AND ESPECIALLY HARRY, HE DOTED ON THE BOY. YOU DON'T KNOW THAT SIRIUS BETRAYED THEM. YOU SAID YOURSELFTHE OTHER DAY THAT YOU WERE NOT THERE WHEN THE FIDELUS WAS BEING PERFORMED. SIRIUS IS FOLLOWING THE DARK LORD. YOU REMEMBER WHAT HIS FAMILY KICKED HIM OUT AT AGE 16 FOR, OH YEAH I DO, NOT BEING A MUGGLE-HATING PUREBLOOD FANATIC LIKE THE REST OF HIS FAMILY. I AM GOING NOW TO FIND MY BEST FRIEND AS I NOW KNOW THAT YOU ARE GOING TO TELL THE MINISTRY THIS RUBBISH OF A STORY AND WE ARE GOING TO GET THIS SORTED OUT BEFORE ANYONE ELSE GETS KILLED. SIRIUS TRYING TO TURN HARRY DARK, ALBUS THAT IS THE FUNNIEST THING I HAVE HEARD IN YEARS SINCE SEVERUS SAID HE WASHES HIS HAIR ONCE A DAY. NOW GOODBYE!" With that end to his tirade Remus stormed out of Albus's office and off Hogwarts grounds intent on finding his best friend and his Godson and warn Padfoot of what a terrible mistake Albus has made.

Meanwhile back in Albus's office the four occupants were left shocked and dazed by the events that transpired. Now they had another problem on their hands or so they thought. Albus looking more warier and more defeated than ever by the previous minutes said to his gathered friends and staff

"This is most unexpected, I thought he'd be disbelieving but this. Assuming that we are correct and Remus is wrong and I have a strong feeling we are correct I have no option but to officially declare Remus Lupin a danger to the Order and the public and hereby suspend his membership indefinitely along with that of Sirius Blacks. I will also have to tell the Minister that Remus knows what we think about the whole situation. Assuming that he finds Sirius before the Order or the Ministry who by now know doubt know that something has happened down at Godric's Hollow tonight, that both of them will take Harry and flee the country as quick as possible." Albus finished looking truly downhearted at the recent turn of events.

"Albus do you really think that Remus will believe what Black tells him over us? Surely Remus Lupin will not turn against us. The boy has been very outspoken on the Dark Side since the first time we met him?" Minerva asked Albus with worry and panic evident in her voice

"I think that the werewolf is capable of going Dark and he will believe anything that traitor Black tells him. We now have two extremely dangerous men on the loose one of whom is a werewolf." Severus stated plainly as if the answer was obvious.

"No, Minerva I don't think that Remus Lupin can turn to the Dark Side and whatever is left of the Death Eaters. Though he may think that we are the enemies as well as what's left of Voldemort henchmen that is why it would be interesting to see what story that Sirius tells them. Minerva, Severus it has been a long night and unfortunately for the unforeseeable future the days are going to get longer. Severus in the morning would you please initiate contact with some of the Death Eaters and Lucius Malfoy more importantly, it will be interesting to hear what Malfoy has to say on the matter as he is or should I say was high up in the hierarchy was he not?" Albus bid them good night leaving his rhetorical question hanging in the air as the Head of Griffindor and Slytherin along with the gamekeeper left his chambers.

Then as soon as he sat down there was a tapping at the window and unsurprisingly there were roughly 20 owls all addressed to him. It was going to be a long night… 

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1st November 1981

Sirius and Harry had by now flown back to Sirius's flat and after putting a sleeping spell on Harry and conjuring up a travel cot for him to sleep in, Sirius got to work. After taking two potions, an anti-sleep draft and an energy potion from his supplies he often used to stay up and party all weekend he began thinking "_All I have to do is contact Albus and tell him about Peter_" when a tapping on the window caught his attention. It was weird for two reasons. One was that he made his flat unplottable and only accepted Owl Post from people he knew he could trust, which now stood at one person, Moony. The second was that he had only seen Moony yesterday and if he wants to contact Sirius he would usually use the Orders method of communication. Sirius hurriedly went to the window and saw a hastily scribbled letter that chilled Sirius to the core of his being. The only time he had felt worse was when he had first seen Lily and James and the guilt had threatened to overwhelm him. The letter read

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Padfoot

If this owl reaches you before I do you have to realise that they are after you. Albus and consequently the Ministry believe that you were James Secret Keeper and were the spy that the Order was looking for. They believe that you have kidnapped Harry to either kill him or raise him as evil.

I don't believe this and have made myself a target as they now think I'm evil as well. We need to get out of the country to somewhere safe. Just take Harry and go. I'll find you somehow. Oh and if Albus was right know that I'll hunt you down and break every bone in your body before killing you.

Moony

Sirius just sat and stared at the letter for minutes before snapping back to reality. They thought that he had betrayed James and Lily and kidnap Harry. He had to get away like Moony said. But where to, he had no other property. Money should not be a problem. After being kicked out by his parents, Sirius being the smart young man he was quickly went to Gringotts Bank before his family took him off the list and took as much gold as he could fit into an expanded trunk. He keeps the trunk that tied to a necklace round his neck. His personal account though had more money than his trunk and who knows how long the three of them need to hide out before Peter is caught or the truth gets out. "_Moony will not have much money_" Sirius mused. "_If I go into hiding I don't want to go back out and risk being caught for a handful of Galleons_". He decided then and there that after packing his stuff he would go to Gringotts and put as much money into two more trunks, one for Moony and one for Harry.

Then it hit him; "_the three of them could go and stay in the Blacks exile cottage_". The cottage was on a sparsely inhabited island of the coast of Scotland and used to be used as an exile from the wizarding world for any member of the Black family who needed to be hid or punished. He silently thanked his Mother for threatening him with it every day as punishment for his views. As his father and brother Regulas had died in previous years only his delusional mother had knowledge of the place and if his cousin Andromeda Tonks could be trusted which she could, being Sirius's favourite relative then his mother was going senile. Another good thing was that the island was all muggle and the cottage called "Hide and Seek" had a variety of powerful wards. They ranged from it being unplottable to it being hidden to muggles and wizards alike as only a Black and people with permission from a Black could see it. It also masked the use of magic and had anti-apparition and Portkey wards among others. "_Yes that would work_" Sirius pondered as he finalised his plans.

With that last thought Sirius start packing like a man possessed shrinking his wardrobe and his clothing draws and putting them in his back pocket. For an average wizard that would have been very hard but Sirius did it with a mere thought and flick of the wand. After shrinking the rest of the essentials Sirius conjured two more trunks and proceeded to charm them with an expansion charm. After shrinking them and putting them in a different pocket Sirius quickly conjured a bit of parchment and a quill and calling his owl quickly he hastily scribbled a quick note to Moony

__

Moony

Got your owl, No I wasn't secret keeper, switched to Peter at the last minute in a bluff. He was the spy. Harry and me are fine. Leaving the Country, going to a family cottage in the Orkney Isles, it has been empty for years. Its called "Hide and Seek". It is a old cottage and only a Black or someone with permission can see it. I have just given you permission. Got everything we need. The cottage is in the centre of the island. That is all I can remember.

Be safe

Padfoot

With that Sirius picked Harry up and deciding to let him sleep and conjuring a strap he tied Harry and the cot to the front of him jumped on his motorcycle and headed off towards Diagon Alley.

An hour later a team of aurors led by Order member Frank Longbottom arrived at the flat. Sirius and Harry were nowhere to be found and anything personal had been removed.

**__**

AN

Any good? Let me know, do you want two, 2-5 thousand-word chapters a week or one long one. This story should be around 100-200 thousand words though I don't have an ending yet. I have only a brief plan and that stops about two-thirds through the story.

Thanks to my first 5 reviewers and to danca I think your question has been answered.

I am sorry about how Hagrid is OC. I just couldn't do his speaking manner properly and the attempts I made were worse than that of him talking normally.

R&R

Cheers

****

Halstead


	3. The Last Believer

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Chapter 3: The Last Believer

1st November 1981

It was around 1:00 when Sirius and Harry touched down outside the Leaky Cauldron where Sirius quickly shrunk the bike and put it in his jacket pocket. After making sure that Harry was all right and deciding to let him sleep, as it would be easier to concentrate on the task ahead. Sirius then pulled his hood up and briskly made his way through the Leaky Cauldron where luckily the bars 5 occupants, 2 wizards, a witch and 2 hags failed to notice him. Not looking at Tom the bartender who was glancing suspiciously at the late entrees to Diagon Alley but Sirius only thought "_that Tom reckons that I am going to Knockturn Alley considering the attire I am wearing and not seeing the baby strapped to my chest_". Sirius quickly made it out the back door and tapping the bricks to enter Diagon Alley and then setting off at full pace, well as fast as you can with a 15 month old baby strapped to your chest, towards Gringotts.

As Sirius approached the white marble building that was Gringotts which was situated part way down Diagon Alley near the intersection with Knockturn Alley. Sirius approached the burnished bronze front doors of Gringotts up steps of white marble. A goblins was standing guard here, dressed in a uniform of scarlet and gold and looking frankly Sirius thought "_quite menacing_" at this late hour of night. As he passed through the first set of doors into an entrance chamber facing another set of doors. These were silver and were engraved with the following rhyme:

__

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

"_Scary Goblins, I hope I don't have any trouble tonight._" Sirius pondered to himself as he trying to look as inconspicuous as possible made his way through the last two guards who after a quick look opened the doors of Gringotts to him.

It was quite quiet in Gringotts as it was late at night but there were still many Goblins sitting behind their desk doing various jobs while a few wizards were in discussion with the Goblins. They were near the entrance to the carts which when accompanied by a Goblin takes you down to the vaults. Sirius quickly hurried over to the nearest available counter to the vaults and after seeing the Goblin just looking at him and not saying anything he said in the politest tone he could muster:

"I'd like to make a withdrawal from vault 711" Sirius then carefully slid his key forward to the Goblin who indicated that he wanted to see it. He studied it for a moment and then turned and barked:

"Griphook escort Mr. Black down to his vault" As the young Goblin in question by a cart indicated himself to Sirius as where he had to go.

Sirius wandered over and the goblin told him to sit in the cart. He obliged and then Griphook asked for the vault number and after Sirius answered jumped in himself and the cart sped off at an obscene speed for an old wooden cart. Sirius felt himself and Harry going deep into the catacombs of Gringotts. The Cart finally slowed to a halt and Griphook got out.

"Vault 711, Mr. Black." Griphook told the man who was rising out of the carts.

Sirius nodded and made his way to the vault entrance where he mumbled " Padfoot is a stud" and then proceeded to pull his key out of a pocket of his jacket that had just appeared as though by magic and put it in the door. Sirius then quickly got to work. He undid the strap that kept Harry safely with him and once the sleeping baby was laid down in the nearest corner to the vault door, Sirius set to work. Like a man possessed Sirius with lightning speed enlarged the trunks and proceeded to fill the trunks with as much gold as they could take. Then with two flicks of his wand Sirius shrunk the trunks then proceeded to make them feather light and slipped them back inside the hidden jacket pocket where after picking up Harry and replacing him to where he was previously placed he left the vault. After putting the key in the concealed pocket he mumbled a password which unlike the one he used to make the pocket show itself this one could just be heard and it nearly broke Sirius's heart to say it

"Prongs is more deer than stag" he whispered in what only could be described as a strangled voice as the pocket disappeared from sight. The grief threatened to overwhelm Sirius for a moment before he remembered where he was and who were after him, The Ministry, The Order of the Phoenix and The Death Eaters. With that last thought still floating round his head he rushed his way over to the carts where Griphook now with a look of puzzlement and suspiciousness on his face sat waiting and once the man was seated the cart took off back towards the marble halls of Gringotts.

Sirius quickly got out of the carts once he they stopped and after a quick thank you to Griphook he strode quickly out of Gringotts and out onto the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley.

Unbeknown to him an announcement had gone out an hour before on the Wizarding Wireless Network that Harry Potter has defeated You-Know-Who and that James and Lily Potter were the last two victims of him. It also stated Sirius Black has kidnapped Harry Potter after betraying them and now that You-Know-How has been defeated Sirius Black has now taken command of the Death Eaters. It also stated that Remus Lupin is a Death Eater and that the pair of them are wanted dead or alive for numerous crimes (the minister made half of them up) like murdering and torturing muggles, helping the Dark Lord, being a werewolf and treason. The minister offered 5,000 galleons for the capture of one of them dead and 20,000 galleons if they are alive. The minister also stated that he would have a team of Dementors looking for Black and that the kiss was authorised on sight.

Sirius was nearly at the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and had just passed Quality Quidditch Supplies when a group of young looking people in their early twenties entered the street from a bar just in front of where he was walking. The group unknown to him had just been celebrating the downfall of Voldemort and mourning the death of the Potters, as they had all been either 2nd year Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw at the time when James Potter and Lily Evans came to Hogwarts. They were also cursing the day that traitor Sirius Black had been born. Sirius knew that he had to hurry up past them and they were just passing each other when of the girls stopped and stood staring at Sirius for a second. "_Damn_" Sirius thought "_I dated her in 6th year for a month on so, she'll recognise me any where._" With that he started to run as fast as he could while pulling the motorbike out of his pocket, he had to get away from Diagon Alley. Unfortunately the men of the group behind him had started chasing him shouting out stunners and more painful hexes meant to bring down the Dark Lords supposed number two and new leader of the Death Eaters. Sirius quickly turned down the nearest alley and wandlessly enlarged the motorcycle, as he had no time to get his wand out. He was just about to jump on his motorcycle when he heard two soft pops and a gruff voice.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here then Black, you didn't think you could escape us forever do you. You will gets what's coming to you, you filthy murdering, traitor." Alastor _Mad-Eye _Moody said to Sirius in what could only be describe as the to one of imminent death. Yet he continued but this time in a much softer voice. "Why Black? Why did you betray Lily, James and the Order? Why did you join Voldemort? I was teaching you everything you needed to become the best Auror ever and even that wasn't even for you, was it?" Moody ended with the demonic glint back in his eye.

"Now Black, tell us where Harry is and we may not kill you." Frank Longbottom who was standing next to Moody and looked just as dangerous.

"He is right here." Sirius harshly told them in a cold voice, unzipping his jacket fully showing the two men Harry as he lay sleeping snuggled up against Sirius's chest. The pair gasped openly as well as the other men who had been chasing them. They looked like they were covering the Aurors/Order of the Pheonix Members' backs in case Sirius tried to fight against them.

"Hand him over now Black, you sick freak! What have you done to the boy?" Moody bellowed reaching for his wand.

"Now listen here Alastor, Frank and listen good. Harry is fine, just sleeping. I did not betray James and Lily. I wasn't their secret keeper. It was Peter. I went to Godric's Hollow after I went to Peters flat where he was supposed to be hiding and found it empty and when I arrived I saw James and Lily dead and Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle approaching the cottage where Harry lay on the floor. I managed to beat the three and get away. I was about to contact Albus when I got an owl from Remus saying that you are all after me. You have to believe me." Sirius told them in a hard voice devoid of emotion yet his eyes betrayed the feelings of hopelessness that he felt.

"What a touching story Black but I don't think so. Albus has already assured us that you were the secret keeper and informed us that your werewolf friend has become a fugitive to join you and there is now a very large bounty on the pair of your heads. Now for the last time hand over the boy!" Moody yelled as all the men present had their wands out.

"Don't make us harm you Black" Frank said not wanting to hit the sleeping baby placed over his chest.

"You don't understand" Sirius screamed "I'm telling the truth, Albus is wrong"

Sirius now realised the predicament he was currently in was futile. Albus had poisoned their minds. "_I'll get you Albus_"Sirius bitterly thought while thinking of a way him and Harry could escape unhurt. He was backed into the corner of the alley with five fully trained wizards blocking his exit. Sure he had the motorcycle but as soon has he moved to get on it they would get him and it would be all over. He had to either distract or stun Frank and Alastor after that the three men would be easy. "_Oh yeah_" Sirius though cynically "_The top two ranking aurors against one trainee auror_. _That will be easy_." He had to do it and do it now as all five of the men looked like they were about to make their move. Sirius could do average wandless magic while using his wand so it was five wands on one wand and a hand.

"If its going to be this way Black, put the boy down, you don't want him getting hurt do you." Frank said in a calming voice as he thought of what he would do if his son Neville who was the same age as Harry was in the same situation. He was slightly confused by Black's behaviour. In the quick briefing earlier by Albus he and the rest were told that Sirius could kill Harry without a second thought and he had obviously been corrupted. But the way he was acting so fatherly perplexed Frank no end.

Sirius thought it over and then undid the slings that held Harry and placing the sleeping boy on the motorcycle, which was to the left of Sirius, ready to go when necessary. He quickly pointed his wand at the boy and not bothering to say an incantation Harry was secured in place by invisible ropes, which you could only see for a second before they vanished.

Suddenly Sirius whipped his wand of his holster while casting three wandless stunners two of which hit their target at the men at the back who were unprepared for such advanced magic in quick succession while waving his wand and shouting "Protego" to deflect back Moody's and Frank's stunners. He shield quivered but held firm. Sirius quickly cast a wandless shield over himself that would deflect minor curses and take some damage of the more major ones.

"Exarmo" Sirius suddenly shouted the stronger version of the disarming curse while waving his hand and sending off a wandless stunner and a powerful earthquake curse at Moody, then quickly dodged another stunner from Frank.

"Protego" Moody shouted and his shield stopped the curse and sent it back and the stunner then hit the shield that Moody just like Sirius had set up round himself. He after taking a step back in shock at his personal shield being struck, strode forward looking to end this duel quickly before Harry got hit by any stray curses but got struck full force by the earthquake curse and was sent 30 yards flying back down the alleyway. 

The three men now back in action as the surviving one had reawakened the other two came striding down the alley to get in a better position to disable Sirius after he had taken care of. Sirius quickly saw this while he was now duelling one on one with Frank Longbottom both using wand and wandless magic and after sending a powerful paralysing curse that had Frank diving out of the way and Sirius as fast as he could waved his wand and hand and shouted:

"Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, Impedimenta" while sending three wandless stunners at the men who all put shields up for the first curses but after the shields barely blocked the curses as Sirius's curses were above the average power for an average wizard. The men all didn't move and as a result the stunners, leaving just Frank and Sirius left standing, struck all three of them. Suddenly Sirius felt an excruciating pain all around his body, which lifted 20 foot in the air and slammed back down to the ground 5 foot behind where he was just standing leaving him in around 50 foot in front of Harry and his escape. Frank though was advancing looking worn down from the duel but still sending stunners and more powerful curses like the disarming curse Sirius had used earlier.

Sirius just managed to roll to the side as the red bolt of the stunner hit a trash can. That gave him an idea. Sirius could use hardly wandless magic anymore and it looked like the same applied to Frank who was sticking to wand magic. All Sirius had to do was lull him in to a false sense of security and it might work.

"Quiesco" Sirius shouted a powerful sleeping charm that would have had Frank sleeping for days had it hit. Frank easily side-stepped the curse and replied:

"Discerpo" Sirius hadn't expected such a powerful curse and had to drop to the floor while the dismemberment curse flew over his head. "_Come on Frank_" Sirius thought, "_Just a little closer_" before he sent off his next curse, a stunner which Frank, though fatigued easily blocked the curse and kept advancing on Sirius who was now on his feet.

"Frank, for one last time, you have to believe me. I loved James and Lily and I love Harry like I would my own child. I would never betray them. It was Peter. Believe me" Sirius, said in a desperate last chance for Frank to believe him.

Frank for a second actually believed Sirius but Albus had given him a job to do. While Black's story seemed plausible Albus said that he was sure that Sirius was the secret keeper. With his emotions conflicting Frank evenly replied.

"Just give yourself up Sirius. You are just making it worse for your self. Please!" Frank ended, trying to reason with the man that he was not so sure about being guilty.

Sirius had made his mind up. It was now or never. His fatigue was threatening to overcome him and his head already pounded but it was necessary. Sirius raised his arms up in the air and for one moment Frank thought he was giving up but then Sirius seemly waved his arm at nothing.

Frank put on his strongest shield. Nothing happened for a millisecond apart from Black looking like he was about to collapse when then he heard something. A growl was coming from behind him. The he turned and saw them. Two large dogs, teeth bearing jumped at Frank who dodged the first attack and then when he finally had some time waved his wand to vanish the dogs at the same time as he heard Black call out:

"Congelo" The last thing Frank was sure he heard before the powerful freezing charm hit him was a muttered "sorry" from Sirius Black.

Sirius was nearly dead on his feet and after strapping Harry back to his chest, sat on the motorcycle and started the long flight towards the Isle of Orkney. His last thought after leaving Diagon Alley and putter the invisibility charm on the motorcycle was that " _It is going to be one hell of a night_"

****

1st November 1981

It was 5:30am in Albus Dumbledore's office and all of the current occupants have had no sleep at all as they have been discussing the current situation late into the night and subsequently the morning as well. After Moody had awakened after his meeting with a brick wall, he managed to revive all of the wizards on the scene. After taking statements from the three men who had backed up him and Frank, to what use it was and also memory charmed the three and their girlfriends to forget about the whole incident. After they had apparated back to Hogwarts to give news of the duel to Albus, who proceeded to lecture and shout at them for a whole hour straight about how they could let Black slip through their grasp.

Albus had come to the conclusion that Black had obviously like his former Master, had sunk deep into the Dark Arts to gain the power and the fact that Harry was still alive confirmed his thoughts about Sirius trying to harness Harry Potters power. Everyone present, which was the Inner Circle of the Order of the Pheonix. The people present were Albus Dumbledore, Head of the Order, Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody, Frank Longbottom, Edgar Bones and Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Six member when the day before there had been eight. James and Lily Potter were also in the Orders inner circle or had been. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin could have been, they were not lacking in the required areas yet Sirius was erratic at best and Remus was not reliable either yet that was not his fault.

The remaining six had been arguing for hours about what to do following the downfall of Voldemort and only certain issues had been resolved. It had been determined that the hunt for Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Harry Potter would be the primary object of the Order and all three of them were wanted alive. The second objective was to prove the guilt of all known Death Eaters that the Order was aware of and to capture new ones should any more Dark activity be forthcoming. Frank Longbottom had been quiet all night, just either agreeing or disagreeing with the points made. He was thinking of the things that Black said to him after they had been left alone together. It was eating him up, _"was Black telling the truth?"_ He had to know.

"Albus, are you sure that Sirius Black was James and Lily's secret keeper?" Frank started nervously, not knowing how to approach the subject tactfully after all, its not everyday someone argues with Albus Dumbledore.

"Yes Frank, although I was not present at the time of the casting, we met hours before and went over the plan one last time. Sirius Black was the secret keeper." Albus replied firmly with a sigh, a hint of annoyance evident in his voice as the same line of questioning by Remus Lupin had already happened that night.

"So you weren't actually there, so Sirius could have been telling the truth. Peter Pettigrew could have been the secret keeper and we are after the wrong man." Frank answered Albus confidently now that he knew how much Albus knew or didn't know about the secret keeper business.

The other members were now muttering quietly to each other as they were weighing the points that both of the men was making. Unfortunately for Frank, they still came to the conclusion that they believed Albus over him.

"I will tell you now Frank for the last time, Sirius Orion Black was James and Lily's secret keeper, he betrayed them to Voldemort and he has kidnapped Harry for reasons which I believe to be true. Now that is all I have to say on the matter." Albus finished heavily piercing frank with a glare that would distil complete agreement into the hearts of most wizards. Frank wasn't one of them though and proceeded to make one finishing statement to Albus.

"Albus, you do not have one piece of concrete proof to suggest that Sirius betrayed James and Lily. You weren't there when they cast the Fidelius Charm. Contrary to your belief, I do not think that Sirius has become the next Dark Lord. He used no Dark Arts tonight in the fighting and used no spells that could of permanently hurt any of us. He even had the chance to kill all of us present after he had beaten me. Alastor you are always saying that you are amazed by Sirius's power and skill." Frank surmised with a glare on his face as deep thought was plastered over the remaining members faces apart from Albus's who was sitting there with something of disbelief written on his face after hearing Franks last statement. However it was Moody who answered him first. 

"Frank, I can see why you are sticking up for the boy, you were in Griffindor together for a couple of years. Yes I was always saying how good he was and how astounded I was with him and now I probably know why, he was at the same time having training sessions with Voldemort and the other Death Eaters and practising torturing Muggles." Moody spouted, going into a fully-fledged rant.

"Alastor, do you really believe the words that you are saying. All I mean by this is do we know that Sirius Black is guilty or are we just assuming." Frank said with an exasperated sigh.

"You must stop this Frank" Albus angrily told the man, his patience wearing thin. "This is what Black wants, he wants us divided, it makes his job easier. United we are strong, divided are we weak" Albus consummated.

"Now I am saying for the last time, and I suggest this to you all. Lets get Peter Pettigrew and question him using Veritaserum today. Then we will see if Black's story is true and that Pettigrew was the secret keeper. If so then we have the chance to undo a terrible mistake before anyone is harmed or we know for sure, 100%, that Black is indeed a traitor." Frank said voice filled with authority as he had his final say on the matter.

A couple of the Inner Circle, the Prewett brothers to be exact we now nodding there head in agreement while the rest still weren't convinced by Frank's impromptu little speech. Albus finished the meeting by saying.

"It has been a long night, I suggest you all get some sleep, I have some thinking to do and will give you my answer to your question Frank tomorrow. Till then ladies and Gentlemen." Albus finished with a weary look in his eye but still Frank got the impression that he had not even dented Albus's believe that Black was innocent and that he may only agree to his idea just to appease the other members.

With that, ten minutes later, Albus Dumbledores office was silent as all the previous occupants were sound asleep in their respective beds, to tired to rationally think about the goings on of the last 24 hours.

****

1st November 1981

It was approaching sunrise as Sirius and Harry, who even after the sleeping charm was taking off remained fast asleep, approached the Orkney Islands which were situated off the north east coast of Scotland. There was a bunch of tiny islands, most uninhabited and a main island where the majority of the population was.

As Sirius approached the Island he flew lower and at the moment his thoughts were exhaustion filled haze that said "_Harry, cottage, safety, Remus, sleep._" It felt like he was flying round the island for hours when in reality it was only a couple of minutes. Sirius could recognise the place anywhere; it was a dark, dank two-storied cottage that his mother had showed him at age 12, at Christmas during his first year at Hogwarts as punishment for being a Griffindor. She told him that he better be a proper Black soon or that was where he was going to be spending all his holidays. In Sirius's point of view he was quite glad that she didn't follow up on that threat.

Finally he saw it; it was on the north west of the tiny island and looked to be about half a mile from the nearest house and about three-quarters of a mile from the nearest village. That was quite something as the village was only approximately 4 square miles.

Sirius landed his bike on the overgrown garden path, surrounded by lawn that had not been cut for what looked like a century. He picked Harry up and attempted to make his way up the path, which surprisingly had remained untouched. Now with a superhuman effort made it to the front door where he was just about able to get his wand out and whispered "Alohomora" feeling any strength he had in him finally go as he stumbled in the cottage and shut the door behind him. It was dark but he didn't care he had just sat Harry down in his cot and was just about to fall on the floor and go to sleep when he heard a cold harsh voice say:

"Make one move Black and I will blast you into tiny pieces"

Sirius, doing the only thing he could do, finally succumbed to the world of darkness as unconsciousness overtook him.

**__**

A/N

That brings an end to another chapter. I will make the final decision about the number and size of the chapters after I post the next one.

I have gone back and re-formatted the first two chapters and changed minor details but nothing that needs to be re-read.

Thanks to all my reviewers!

Cheers

Halstead


	4. Reunion

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 4: Reunion

5th November 1981

It was morning when Sirius woke up but he did not know that as the room he was currently in was pitch black and had no source of lights whatsoever. Sirius felt as though the Knight Bus had hit him repeatedly then had his magic stolen by a muggle leaving him weak and sore all over and feeling altogether totally drained. "_The last time I was this bad was the night of graduating from Hogwarts_" Sirius thought wearily though his headache had luckily subsided slightly since he had woke. _"Me, James and Remus must have gone through four bottles of Firewhiskey, before the barman at the Hogs Head actually brought out something stronger. My God did that taste like paint stripper." _Sirius reminisced with a slight smile on his face though that disappeared altogether replaced with a look of complete horror as the happenings of the last twenty-four hours came flying through his brain.

Just then did Sirius realise that when he tried to move and couldn't, that there were binds tying him to the bed. "_Harry, I hope your safe, I will never forgive myself if you come to harm." _Sirius mentally panicked for a moment then reality set in_. "It was Moony," _Sirius thought "_the only other people it could have been were Lucius Malfoy or Rudolphus Lestrange yet I am sure that Narcissa and Bellatrix, my dear cousins have forgot that this place existed."_

Sirius's hands were tied above his head and even if he had the strength, he couldn't have done anything as the binds were muggle rope, he was sure of it. Just then he heard a sound that broke his heart and stopped all the thought process in Sirius's head:

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! No!" A high-pitched baby voice squealed out from beyond the door and the sound penetrated Sirius's soul, he was helpless.

"Let Harry go, I swear that if you lay one hand on him, I will find you, hunt you down and break every bone in your body before killing you." Sirius bellowed with pure venom dripping from his voice at the person who he thought to be torturing his Godson.

The sound stopped and Sirius heard footsteps approach the room. Sirius mentally braced himself with coming face to face with his captor and prepared himself to do anything to save his beloved Godson.

The door opened and Remus Lupin entered holding Harry who was busy playing with a toy dragon that Remus had conjured a couple of days ago as unbeknown to Sirius, he had been unconsciousness for four days. Remus looked worse than he normally did though the full moon was still two weeks away. His threadbare robes hung off his frame and his face was full of indecipherable expressions. The death of James and Lily had hit him hard and had only really sunk in when he saw Harry sitting there in his cot, asleep with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead, the only thing that showed the terrible ordeal that he had been put through.

"Hello Padfoot, you have been out cold for four days you know. I have been wondering when you were going to wake, Harry has been calling your name for the past four days." Remus looked at his oldest and best friend with a slight smile that in no way reached his eyes.

"PAHFOT" Harry gurgled happily, now seeing that one of his favourite people was awake and not harmed.

"Harry." Sirius croaked his throat sore. Remus conjured him a glass of water and gave it to him. Sirius drank it in one slip and carried on "Moony old buddy, you have to believe me, it was Peter!" Sirius exclaimed once his voice had returned to a somewhat normal sound.

"Oh I do Padfoot, I do, otherwise I would of turned you in and collected the twenty thousand galleons myself. I want to hear the whole story form you right now, and we'll see where we go from there." Remus calmly stated in an even voice, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him already. 

"Alright Moony I will but first, what's this about twenty thousand Galleons?" Sirius asked puzzled about his friends' former statement. 

"You don't know Sirius? The ministry has put a bounty of five thousand Galleons for our capture dead and twenty thousand if we are caught alive. You are the most wanted criminal in Europe while I am second. They think that you were Voldemort's right hand man and now are in charge while I am now your number two. After your display against Moody and Frank, which somehow got into the Daily Prophet you are now feared by most of the wizarding population." Remus stated, as he took a chair near the bed where Sirius lay, in a tone full of disgust at how Albus and the public could turn on them so fast, especially Remus who they are hunting for just believing Sirius.

"Okay Moony." Sirius said in a far away sounding voice as he was in a shock filled daze, processing all of the information that he had just received from Remus. It was not surprising either. They were all too quick to jump to conclusions in the wizarding world even Albus who in Sirius's mind was the worst of them all. He would get him back someday he prayed. He would punish the man for not what he had done to himself or even Remus but for Harry's sake. Albus had all but nearly ruined the boys' childhood. If Sirius had stayed put and been captured, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be in Azkaban and Harry would be with Lily's sister, Petunia. He had met her once, just last year with her new husband who was the ugliest, most horrible muggle Sirius had ever met. He would never forgive Albus for what he has done to his Godson, never.

"Padfoot!" Moony chided, bringing his friend out of the abyss that was his thoughts at that current point.

"Sorry Moony got lost for a moment. I'll tell you, but don't speak till I'm finished okay?" Sirius asked Moony.

"Okay Padfoot, but I'll give Harry something to do first," Moony said looking down at the boy who was now seated in his lap gurgling happily about seeing his two "uncles" together as James was teaching him to call them. Remus quickly with a flick of his wand conjured Harry up some toy building blocks and setting Harry down on the floor next to them who was happy to play, turned his full attention to the still tied up man on the bed.

"Now I will start with what happened with the Fidelius Charm." Sirius started saying and once he started the whole story started pouring out. How he had suggested that Peter be the secret keeper as it was the perfect bluff, Voldemort was going to go after Sirius leaving James and Lily safe. They weren't even going to tell Albus. Then how Sirius had been in the pub. How he had felt something was wrong. How Peters flat was deserted. What he had seen when he arrived at Godric's Hollow. The bodies of James and Lily and how they lay. It was all to much for the both of them when he mentioned this and both proceeded to weep and grieve for their dead friends, as the only noise for a matter of minutes was Harry slamming the building blocks together. This was coupled with an occasional word from Harry that was certainly in no language that they had ever heard of. Sirius still ploughed on. His confrontation with Malfoy and the two goons. His trip back to the flat. The owl from Remus and his plan for their safety. The trip to Diagon Alley and Gringotts. Then he told Remus all about his encounter with Frank and Moody and ending up with the journey to Scotland, ending with him remembering collapsing in the living room at the sound of his voice. Remus in turn told Sirius all about his meeting with Albus and all the things that were mentioned in it. His encounter with Snivellus which Sirius despite everything grinned at, followed by him packing most of his possessions worth taking he had (which was very little) and apparating to the Orkney Isles. Then with him proceeding to walk the Isle looking for the cottage which he thought may have been a hoax but after about four hours of walking he found what he was looking for.

They both stared at each other for a matter of minutes in shock at the revelations they had both heard and when Remus came to his senses again, he vanished the ropes and Sirius got up and the two embraced. Tears were flowing freely as they hung on to each other for support. They were on their own now, no one else to turn to. They felt a weight at their legs. Harry obviously wanted to join in the group hug. They both held him tight and new tears were shed when Harry after a minute said, " Mum, Dad?" In a tone which could only be described as pure innocence which brought heartache and longing to the two men present.

After about another quarter of an hour, the group split and Remus, handing Sirius his wand back, saying that James's was on the table, the pair walked into the kitchen and started talking about what they were going to do next. They talked about what they needed to survive and how they were going to bring Harry up, to what they were going to tell them about their parents. They decided to tell Harry that as soon as he was old enough to understand they would tell him the truth and teach him magic using James's wand. Remus had suddenly thought of something and was dreading the answer.

"Padfoot, how are we going to survive, I know that we can conjure most things but things such as a fridge and oven and other essentials as well as clothes for Harry as he grows we can't, how are we going to be able to afford it. I have 1 galleon on me and I can't get to Gringotts, not that it would matter but I know you went, but did you get enough to survive for maybe the next ten years?" Remus asked pleading that Sirius got enough money, otherwise what would they do?

"Moony, Moony, old chum, have I got money, here let me show you." Sirius said with a sweeping gesture, unclipping his necklace and putting the silver chain with the miniature pendant on the table, flicking his wand and saying "Engorgio" and the pendant became a full size trunk witch Sirius opened and showed Remus the trunk full of solid gold Galleons.

"My Lord, Padfoot you think ahead." Remus praised as he saw the contents of the obviously enlarged trunk which must of contained 10,000 Galleons. _"It should bloody well be enough"_ Remus thought. Sirius though still had a big grin on his aristocratic face, which made Remus know that he had something else to add. With a wave of his wand a similar necklace to his own appeared on the table. Sirius then muttered the password for his hidden pocket to reveal and he pulled out the other two trunks. With a wave if the wand and the same incantation as before, he enlarged them both, opened the lids and showed a gob smacked Remus the contents.

"Padfoot, what did you do, rob Gringotts?" Remus said with what felt like the first genuine smile he had cracked in days.

Sirius then proceeded to re-shrink both the trunks, putting one back in his pocket while attaching the other trunk to the necklace on the table and firmly putting in it Remus's hand saying:

"Now Moony, I know how you feel about accepting charity, but I insist that you take this, you never know when you might need it. As for the other one, that is for when Harry is old enough to understand what it contains." Sirius told Remus hoping his friend took the gift.

In answer Remus got his feet and him and Sirius embraced once more though this time it was more of a man hug than before. That was all the answer that Sirius needed to hear.

"Moony, what is this place like, when I came, I could barely see let alone take in the cottage, I have only seen the outside once or twice." Sirius asked almost joyful that he would get to decorate a whole cottage as he had a passion of art that he had gotten when a child and he couldn't seem to shake it. At least once all of his friends would have seen him sitting in one of the plush chairs in the Griffindor common room drawing something on a muggle sketch pad using a muggle pencil.

"Well while you were out I checked out the house and it is quite small but large enough for the three of us, I can give you the guided tour if you want, it won't take very long." Moony replied

"Sure." Padfoot muttered

It was approaching noon when Remus started showing Sirius round the cottage. On the ground floor was an average sized kitchen with a dining table and chairs being the only furniture beside the counters. Then there was a long living room that stretched out over the length of the house. Then there was a small little room that could be perhaps used as a study if one of the marauders needed it to be or a playroom for Harry. Upstairs there was three bedrooms, one large, one of an average size and the one Sirius was in which happened to be the smallest. A fairly large bathroom with a corner tub was the last room on the upstairs floor and concluded the tour of the house. Furniture in the house was sparse at best with an armchair and a sofa in the living room and a battered old desk in the study while all the bedrooms contained a single bed and a wardrobe, nothing more. The carpets were the same throughout the cottage, an old grey colour and looked like they had been there for a couple of centuries which in reality they probably had. The walls were all white or were supposed to be but they all had stains and streaks of dirt. The upstairs rooms did not have windows and the ceilings like everything else in the cottage had dirt on them and a layer of dust that you could get yourself lost in. 

Sirius and Remus ended back in the kitchen and seeing Harry still playing with the blocks with a happy grin on his face and looking in a world of his own muttering things to himself now and then, the pair sat down. They decided that they were going to decorate all the rooms first then repeat the process while furnishing the rooms with all the items that they were able to conjure and add the stuff that each man had brought with them but this was quite little. Then they would see where they would go from there. Sirius had brought about half of Gringotts and what looked like to be enough clothing to open three women's boutiques, all he needed was the makeup, as he had also somehow remembered to pack six pairs of shoes. Remus on the other hand had managed only five sets of clothes but brought all the books he had owned which was enough to fill a small library as well as a wizarding wireless. They readily agreed to share each others possessions as Sirius really did need to keep in shape with his training therefore needing the books while Remus was in need of quality clothes though he drew the line at wearing any pastel colours. They agreed to do Harry's room first so they could know that he was safe having his afternoon nap while they decorated the rest of the house.

Picking up Harry, who gurgled and made happy noises about being with his Godfather. It had not yet sunk in that he would never be able to see or hear his Mum and Dad again; Harry bounced up and down as the three of them made the way to what would be Harry's room, which was the smallest bedroom. Sirius had agreed to take the middle sized bedroom which was in the middle of the hall closest to Harry's whose was next door to the bathroom's. Remus didn't mind about this, Harry had always being closer to Sirius due to the fact that Sirius didn't work, and spent most of the time he had with James and Lily. The only time Remus ever thought Sirius left was when he went to chat up women "_which was quite often_ _knowing Sirius" _Remus laughed softly to himself as they approached Harry's room.

Remus took the furniture side while Sirius as soon as entering the room and setting Harry down began to work on the design almost feverishly muttering cleaning charms and colour charms and other design charms. _"Sirius is worse than a women with all these charms, he must have memorised the book, "1001 design charms you might use once in a lifetime_" Remus thought softly as a grin spread across his features as he settled down to work. He vanished the bed and with a look of concentration he created a large cot that looked very good with an intricate design on it. A couple of flicks of the word and incantations later the cot was padded and had a temperature adjustment charm on it so if Harry was cold the cot would be warm and vice versa. Another look of concentration creased his face as he transfigured the wardrobe into something more new looking and which had muggle clowns drew all over it as Remus remembered that Harry loved clowns. With a look of someone in hard thought Remus conjured Harry a play chest which also had clowns decorating it and with a intense look kept flicking his wand each time a new toy would appear in Harry's play chest. It contained all the toys he had had at home that Remus could remember and with that Remus was finished and he stepped back in awe to look at the job Sirius had done, not noticing it when he was doing the furnishings. The room was now a light blue on two walls and dark navy on the remaining two, the carpet was a thick plush cream one and the ceiling well, it was spectacular. It was a mural of a typical beach scene with lots of people playing about, building sandcastles and splashing in the sea. The sky was clear with just a hint of cloud and the Sun shone brightly. It now resembled a room fit for a king.

"Padfoot, that is magnificent!" Remus praised, he was shocked by the quality of the mural, as they were extremely hard to do.

"I know Moony, I am the best aren't I" Padfoot said in a mock sigh as he batted his eyelids making Remus burst out laughing.

"Come on then dancing queen, lets lay Harry down and get moving." Remus pointed a look at the boy who was gazing with amazement at the room and clapping his little hands.

  
"Again, Again!" Harry squeaked in a tone of delight at seeing the game that his two "uncles" were playing.

"Come on Harry, nap time" Remus said in what could only be described at an attempt at his stern voice as he picked the now yawning tot up and placed him in his new bed and tucked him in and kissing him on the forehead in a fatherly manner. Sirius also gave Harry a fatherly kiss and both men crept out of the room and no talk was necessary, they had a lot of work to be done.

Two hours later, Sirius and Remus were sitting at the elegant bronze kitchen table on high backed comfortable chairs completely exhausted as they had spent the last two hours decorating, conjuring and transfiguring all the remaining rooms though none were as elegant as Harry's as there was no need to. They only did Harry's room like that as they wanted him to have the best they could offer as he was stuck there with them for maybe a decade if not more until Sirius's and then subsequently Remus's was figured out. They were now, nursing cups of coffee that Sirius had conjured which was not even comparable to the muggle way that Lily made it and they were discussing what they would for the full moon. It was agreed on both parts that the two of them would build a sufficiently reinforced and warded shed for Remus on the grounds for his transformation, which looked to be about three acres though some trimming charms would need to be used. Either that or a heard of Elephants. A training area was to be constructed for them both to use, as they both would never know when they might need it. That was for another day though as once Harry awoke the pair, who would have to buy a sofa as they were too large to conjure for the pair of them, pushed two armchairs together in front of the fire. Then with Harry perched in between them, the threesome that would become each others only family proceeded to play games and tell stories with all three dropping off into as a contented sleep. Well as contented as can be considering James and Lily Potter being dead and the whole world thinking that Sirius and Remus have turned evil. _"At least we have each other and Harry"_ was the last thought that crossed the pair of Marauders thoughts as they drifted off into the land of dreams.

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AN

Another chapter, 4 in a week, you lucky readers! I have decided to keep the chapter lengths as they are, between 3,000 and 6,000 and try to do two maybe three chapters a week although RL has been a pain lately, damn revision. I have had nothing to do for months and when I finally start to write a story, bang; I have a hundred things to do. Anyway enough with the rambling.

Not much happening in this chapter just was setting the scene for later.

I have changed the formatting again with the bold font for speech being removed as a reviewer complained so that is fair enough, I have changed it back.

Any ideas will be considered though NO SLASH, I don't like it and I won't write it, it doesn't fit in with the plot. 

How powerful do you want Harry to be, I have an idea but it can change if enough people want another.

Anyway, see u all soon

Thanks to all the reviewers especially those that have reviewed all three, thank you and your words are like music to my ears.

Cheers 

Halstead


	5. No Turning Back

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

The first part of this chapter happens previously to the events of last chapter.

Chapter 5: No Turning Back

2nd November 1981

Peter Pettigrew was scared out of his mind and terrified for his life. His Master had been defeated and it was sure to be sooner rather than later before Sirius told Albus that Peter was James and Lily's secret keeper and he was going to be sent to Azkaban and make friends with the Dementors.

Unbeknown to him, as he, along with the rest of the Death Eaters had spent the entire of yesterday waiting for the Dark Lord to return to his headquarters to boast about how easy the Potters were and then give out orders to his faithful. But that didn't happen and all the Death Eaters were in a wild panic about what they were going to do when it was revealed that Harry Potter, a 15 month old baby had defeated their Master. After that announcement over half of the Death eaters had thrown off their robes and masks and apparated away. _"Probably trying to get their alibi's sorted out" _Peter thought disgustedly at their lack of faithfulness. The rest had talked about what they were going to do and it was decided on that just the most faithful supporters who remained would carry on attacking but in an underground style and they would just bide their time waiting for their Master to return.

With his Master defeated, not killed though as the Dark Lord had told all his followers that he was close to being immortal and the killing curse wouldn't actually kill him completely. But he was gone and Peter feared that he would be a long time coming back. Peter also found out from Lucius and the informant that Sirius Black had been able to get to Harry first and now held custody of him with Remus Lupin at an unknown location.

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"Sirius and Remus will kill me when they get hold of me!" Peter thought with dread filling his veins as it was not known to him yet and wouldn't be for a number of years that everyone thought Sirius and Remus to be was evil and Peter was suspected of nothing by the absolute majority save a select group of people.

Peter quickly ran to his bedroom and got his old school trunk, throwing out all of the stuff and quickly packing everything he needed to live on the run as he did not have the power of Sirius and Remus to conjure large objects. Once all his clothes were in, he went to the bathroom and got his entire potion supplies, shrinking them and then adding them to the trunk.

As he was rushing trying to think of the things he would need for his upcoming travels, he did not notice Frank Longbottom and two other Order members discreetly enter his flat and start their search for him. 

Peter finally found them as when he was rushing out of his bedroom, trunk in hand he clattered into one of the Order members who he recognised as Dedalus Diggle who was sent sprawling across the floor.

"My, my Peter you should watch where you are going, you could hurt someone." Frank Longbottom told the dazed man on the floor that now knew that this was going to be a lot harder than he anticipated but he still had his surprises. "Where are you planning on going by the way, anywhere nice" Frank continued, his glare now stone cold as he saw the now open trunk that Peter was hauling and the contents of it. In Frank's mind that proved the man had something to tell that he wasn't willing to.

Peter and Diggle both made there way to theirs feet's, Peter more cautiously as he was thinking of what he was going to do. _"Great, just great. I might just say to Frank, Oh by the way, I'm not going anywhere in particular just as far from Sirius, Remus and the rest of the Order as possible as I was the one that betrayed James and Lily."_ Peter sarcastically thought.

"I am just going to travel a little bit around England, the last couple of days has been very hard on me you know, I feel like a part of me is missing!" Peter replied in a sickly sweet voice. He saw Frank's gaze soften slightly but he was still unconvinced. "_Damn_" Peter thought.

"You have an awful lot of things in that trunk for just travelling for a short while Peter. No matter though, all we need you to do is come to Hogwarts and answer a few questions then you may be going on your travels." Frank told the man in an even voice although he believed the only place Peter Pettigrew was going to after Hogwarts was Azkaban.

"Why is that Frank, I just need to get away from it all for a while. I will answer your questions when I come back." Peter managed to stutter out as he was by now looking extremely nervous.

"Sorry Peter, but Sirius Black has told us something very interesting that we need to know if it is true or not so if you'll be coming, Albus is waiting." Frank said in almost a cold voice while he was absentmindedly twirling his wand through his fingers

Peter had caught the wrong impression, in which they all believed Sirius's story about him and just needed to confirm it and then he would be sent to the Dementors, but it was the other way round. Albus had only agreed to him being questioned just to prove that to the last few doubters that Sirius Black was the secret keeper and therefore betrayed James and Lily. Peter didn't know this and got ready to make one hell of a exit.

"Come on Peter we have not got all day." Frank menacingly told the quivering man as he was now growing bored with the situation. Frank then decided to hurry along the process and conjured ropes round Peter and proceeded to drag the man outside.

When he got to the door and opened it, the impossible happened, Peter Pettigrew just vanished out of thin air or that was what Frank thought, as he did not see the rat creep past him.

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"How did he do it" Frank wondered in shock. "_There was anti-apparating wards over the whole of his flat."_ Frank had personally made sure of it. Seeing the stunned faces of the other two members of the Order who had just witnesses the same event, Frank cursed loudly and profusely, that was the second person who had escaped him in two days.

Then with a swish of the wand, Frank brought the anti-apparating barriers down. A loud crack resounded as three apparated away. Frank although peeved very bad about losing Pettigrew, he was sure that at least this would prove him right, no innocent man would run away from a harmless situation.

After waiting a minute Peter Pettigrew transformed, then shrinking his trunk and placing it in his robe pocket he re-transformed into his Animagus form and proceeded out of his flat not to return for may years. He had a mission, he was setting out intent on finding and restoring his Master to his former glory and together they would kill Black and Lupin and make the rest of that pathetic Order pay.

****

25th December 1981

Sirius, Remus and Harry were settling into life at Hide and Seek cottage or as Sirius had nicknamed it "the last stronghold of pranks". All the occupants had taken the death of James and Lily Potter very hard but in the two months they had been in the cottage. The pair of adults, if you could call them that had gotten their grief and mourning over and done with mainly and were now focused on raising Harry to his full potential. They knew that Harry was going to be one hell of a wizard as he had already started to show accidental magic at the age of one! 

It happened on the 6th of December when Sirius had once again begun tickling his Godson mercilessly but unlike all other times Sirius had suddenly gone as stiff as a board and fell flat on his face. Remus shot up worried and was stunned, shocked and delighted to see that Harry had somehow put Sirius in a full body bind and the only part of him moving were his eyes which were shocked and also pleading Remus to undo the spell. Harry not knowing what he had done was still delighted that he had stopped his Godfather tickling him decided to get some revenge on him, if the baby knew what that meant. He got up and walking over to the prone form of his Godfather proceeding to jump heavily on him shouting at the top of his little lungs.

" I GOT PAHFOT, I GOT PAHFOT!" Harry was shrieking and to add insult to injury was jumping up and down on the helpless form of his Godfather. Remus was by now on the floor tears evident in his eyes, in hysterics at the actions of Harry and at the predicament Sirius had got himself into. After a few minutes Remus had went and picked Harry up who had looked at him with a sad look which sent the man into laughter. Needless to say that after that day Sirius had stopped tickling Harry as much as he used to.

Since the day where Sirius and Remus had decorated the house they had finished furnishing the house with all the non-conjurable items after a hurried trip to Diagon Alley on the part of Remus. He had to go to Diagon alley after the pair realised that they had no muggle money. So Remus placed under the strongest glamour charms the pair could muster made his way to Diagon Alley disguised fully. He was under so many charms the pair thought that it must have been a world record for the number of glamour charms worn, apart from the girl in the year above them in Hogwarts who they were sure invented her own makeup charms. If you did a revealing spell on he it was like a rainbow, they were sure Hogwarts had fewer spells on it.

Not knowing if they would fool everyone, the pair of marauders had made a Portkey in the form of a ring that once removed from Remus's hand would take him back to his bedroom in the cottage if the charms failed.

It was a trip that caused no problems. Remus went to Diagon Alley with his trunk of gold securely fastened round his neck and once the numerous purchases needed had been bought including plenty of furniture and kitchen equipment, new robes for Remus, plenty of books for Harry and crates of Butterbeer and Firewhiskey. The last two were mainly for Sirius who loved to relax and drink but also like Remus had trouble sleeping on occasions, thought they might help.

After that was the main challenge was a trip to Gringotts which was going to be the hardest part of the trip as Goblins sensed magic differently to humans. Any suspicions they had went when Remus enlarged the trunk and proceeded to ask for it to be exchanged to Muggle money. After being sure he was being ripped off but not going to push his luck, Remus exited Gringotts with £60,000 in British currency and going down a side alley used the Portkey and got home.

That was the second from last time one of them had left the house and today, Christmas Day to be precise the trio was having the best of times. They were playing games, drinking Butterbeer, eating plentiful amounts of food and the main event being the pair giving Harry as many presents as they possibly could. Harry was delighted but seemed to like the wrapping paper the presents came in as much as the presents. After he had opened everything and was surrounded by mountains of wrapping paper he squealed.

"Uncle Moony, Uncle Padfooh, me want more!" Harry almost pouted at his "uncles" while still not being able to say his Godfathers name but Remus was sure that the child just did it to wind up his Godfather.

"Now Harry you have got loads of presents, you should be saying thank you to us." Sirius mock sternly told the pouting child.

"Tank you, can you wreed to me pwleese." Harry said with a puppy dog look on his eyes as he handed the book to his Godfather, who had instantly melted at the look he recognised as his own favourite. The bouncing child handed him one of the books that Remus had got him in Diagon Alley. It was about a child who knew nothing about magic until one day he got a letter about a school named Hogwarts. It had many adventures and was written for young magical children.

Sirius and Remus had decided that although Harry was not living in the Wizarding World, the pair would try and make him as comfortable with it as possible and therefore had been telling the child many stories about different parts and people concerning the Wizarding Word. They thought that by doing this Harry would be able to do magic easier as he would understand why he could to do it a lot more. Harry loved the stories and giggled and squealed whenever a good story was told.

As the trio settled down to watch the television that Sirius had went down in disguise to the main town and purchased. He did this as he used to love the one that James and Lily had and he spent a tremendous amount of money buying a large colour one though they could easily afford it. From this and through the help of his "Uncles Moony and Padfoot" as Harry had been instructed to call them as they rarely used their first names in the presence of each other, Harry's vocabulary had started to increase, he could now say about 60 words. This was astounding but Sirius and Remus had realised that after the "never again" incident as that was what Sirius called being put in a body bind by a one year old, Harry was nothing but a bag full of surprises.

About 7:30 once Harry had fallen asleep after about four stories from Remus whose turn it was tonight, he entered the living room once more to find Sirius reading "100 best public pranks ever" in an armchair. But once Sirius saw him they both rose and proceeded to the back garden where everyday for a month after Harry had gone to sleep and a sonorous charm place on his room, the remaining marauders duelled against each other to keep themselves fit and in shape.

It became regular that the pair would try out new charms that they had read out on each other but no curses were aloud. There were sometimes stipulations set on the duels like no shields, wandless magic only which gave Sirius a huge advantage or first person transfigured wins but tonight it was just an ordinary duel.

They faced off against each other and bowed and Remus started the duel after both men had wandlessly put shield charms round themselves.

"Constringo Constrixi Constrictum" Remus called out an advanced binding charm that was deadly fast sped towards Sirius who instead of testing his shield against such a powerful charm rolled to the left and barked

"Everro" Sirius spoke and while saying the incantation he waved his other arm in a motion similar to one stretching though Remus knew his buddy better. Remus with his werewolf enhanced agility dove to the right as the sweeping curse and whatever wandless curses Sirius sent went harmlessly flying past.

The duel continued this way for around quarter of an hour, the charms steadily getting more powerful and advanced with both men now sweating profusely at the dodging and the strain using so much magic put on a body. That was until Remus took a gamble.

"Nitidus Necto" Remus bellowed moving his wand in a complex pyramid motion while staying on the move all the time.

"Protego" Sirius yelled quickly not knowing what charm Remus had cast.

Unfortunately for him the charm Remus cast was an highly advanced unblockable binding charm that caused rings of incredibly strong flowers to bind tightly around Sirius whose wand clattered to the floor while Remus triumphantly made his way over but just before he picked up Sirius's wand he heard:

"Accio" Sirius wandlessly summoned his wand back and then before Remus could get back into the duel cried "Taceo Tacuitacitum" and then proceeded to undo the previous spell that Remus cast.

Remus though he tried couldn't get out of the way quick enough and ended up being hit with a charm that Sirius had learned in Auror training, the ultimate silence charm. When it hits a person only the person who cast the charm can take it off.

Sirius now looking like the cat that got the cream pranced over to Remus singing in an horrible off key voice a Muggle track that he had heard previously and liked. It was one that drove Remus crazy as Sirius would sing it in a high pitched voice and adapt the words to his own liking

Remus had an idea, it would work and Scooby Doo over there wouldn't know what hit him.. Remus drawing all his power waved his hand as in defeat and thought with all his might, as a wandless incantationless charm was the hardest type of magic to perform

"Subsisto Perfundo". Remus waited with baited breath as his head spun as the mild charm which was not as strong as Remus would of liked made its way to the unsuspecting Sirius who was prancing closer to Remus with every second that past.

"Padfoot is the best, Better than all the rest, Better than Remus is, Better than he could be. Oh I'm simply the…" Sirius suddenly stopped, his dreadful Tina Turner rendition finished as he was frozen solid in place but with all his senses intact and then suddenly out of nowhere hundreds of little ice cold water jets started spraying the now squealing and cursing man. 

Remus chuckled to himself as he got his bearings, and started walking to the house to make a cup of tea, he would let the new water feature stay out there for a little while as a late Christmas present. _"How he must like that" _was the last thought Remus had before with one last chuckle he stepped in to the warm cottage and out of the cold night.

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AN

A Transitional chapter more action hopefully coming in the next couple of chapters.

Thanks to all the reviewers who gave me input about how powerful Harry should be, the ones from Bill and kateydidnt made interesting reading especially.

GY: that is what I thought, not much if any romance will be involved and your suggestion was close to what I had thought about but more about that in later chapters.

AFI-Boy: what can I say, thank you, I really don't think my writing is that good but you're the boss! About all the questions you will have to find out for yourself but one thing I will tell you is that by the time the story is finished Harry should be an of age wizard!

Do you, my faithful reviewers reckon I need a beta reader, I am undecided? If you all say yes, that my story is hard to read I will try to get one but that means chapters will probably be up one or two days later than usual so let me know. The decision will probably be made in a couple of chapters.

Oh and by the way, I've gone back and dated the scenes as the story will jump somewhat in future chapters and it will be much easier if you knew the time scale.

Next chapter will be Harry's second birthday, present ideas welcomed. After that the chapters will start to get longer in their time difference.

Thanks to all my reviewers. 

Cheers

Halstead


	6. Where Does All the Time Go

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 6: Where Does All The Time Go

31st July 1982

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Harry, Happy Birthday to you." The two Marauders sung to Harry with Remus being a lot better at singing than Sirius who still after months of unbearable singing every day still hadn't improved.

Harry was delighted and blew out the two candles in one go and was clapping his hands and banging the table with his hands chanting:

"Me want prewsnts, Uncle Padfooh, Uncle Moony pwease. Me want prewsnts" Harry pleaded in an almost girlie whine to his "Uncles" as receiving presents was his favourite time.

"Harry we have been through this, your presents are coming can't you wait just a little while?" Sirius mock chided the small child with a huge grin plastered across his face who reminded him so much of James already when he still such a tender age.

"No, No, No, No, me want prewsnts now, NOW, NOW, NOW!" Harry by the end was shouting at the top of his lungs while the puppy dog look that neither Sirius nor Remus could refuse especially being that it was his birthday came across his cute chubby cheeks as he looked at his two "Uncles" pleadingly.

Sirius and Remus gave each other an exasperated look knowing that Harry would not budge on his demands and with it being his birthday they decided that he could have what he wanted though on any other day they would not of given in. Both men were now looking at each other with the same thought running through their head, _"you go get the presents, no you, no you."_ Finally Sirius started to sing one of the latest songs that he had heard on the telly, Video Killed The Radio Star and after three lines Remus couldn't bear it no more.

"OK Padfoot I'll go, no need to stoop to desperate measures, a please Moony would of sufficed!" Moony told his friend with a grimace on his face, no matter how good Sirius was at some things, he would never ever be a good singer.

Remus then proceeded to go to the wardrobe in his room where the sack of presents that was Harry's were placed. It had ended up in Moony's wardrobe after Sirius insisted that since Remus had brought the presents he should keep them in his room. Remus had argued that he only brought the presents could if Sirius had the chance he would buy the child the most inappropriate of things like a slingshot which he mentioned the day before Remus went to the muggle town to buy the presents. Another reason Sirius had mentioned was that his wardrobe was fuller and he didn't have the room as his shoes were kept in the bottom of the wardrobe and he didn't want them to be scuffed. _"What a tart!"_ Remus had thought to himself at the time and snickered to himself as he made his way to open the wardrobe.

A loud flash and a tremendous "BOOM" seemed to rock the house to its foundations but as Sirius was rolling on the floor watched by a curious Harry who decided to emulate his Godfather and was by now rolling on the floor in laughter making Sirius nearly wet himself laughing.

A loud curse of "SIRIUS BLACK I WILL KILL YOU, YOU, YOU…" echoed through the house as Remus came storming down stairs with Harry's sack of presents clinging to the front of him protecting himself from view. With a lazy flick of the hand Sirius cast a banishing charm and the stack of presents went flying to an empty corner leaving Remus exposed.

Sirius and Harry stopped rolling round on the floor and looked at what Remus had become.

"Moony funny, funny, funny, funny." Harry chorused as hr looked at what had happened to Remus who had fury etched across his now changed features.

Remus now looked like a women with shoulder length blond hair, what looked like a wonder bra on his chest and he was wearing a tight T-shirt that accentuated his new figure. It bore the slogan "Because I'm worth it". Apart from that he was wearing tight Muggle jeans and high heeled shoes. Perhaps the funniest thing was his face that now looked a disfigured twist between a man and a woman.

With a quick "Expelliarmus" the wand that was now in Remus's hand flew swiftly to Sirius and with a quick wave of his wand and a muttered "Preoccupo" Remus was now unable to do any wandless magic.

If Harry weren't in between him and Sirius, Remus would have lunged at his friend there and then. Sirius, who still had tears in his eyes whipped out a muggle camera that Remus had brought on his first trip to the town and took a few pictures quickly then saying.

"Don't just stand their all day Moony old buddy, if we put you out in the garden you could be our scarecrow so get moving, or would you look better as a water feature." Sirius quipped, the glint of revenge still in his eye.

Remus now knew what the prank was all about; it was to get Remus back for what he had done to him at Christmas. Their had been some minor pranks since then and looking back Remus had thought he had got off lightly but if it was one thing Remus knew, Sirius could hold a grudge.

Harry now in Sirius arms as he walked over to Remus to give him his wand back and undo the spells couldn't resist poking Remus in all the body parts that had changed and squealed every time he was successful.

Once Sirius had undid the spells on Remus who thankfully became a man once more, all three sat down and summoning the sack, Remus started to get out all of the wrapped presents that came from his second visit to the main town on the island. They decided that it was not worth a trip to Diagon Alley and they would only go for something special which both of them new was code for Harry's first broomstick which they decided to buy for him when he was big enough to ride safely. 

Just because Remus didn't visit Diagon Alley didn't mean that Harry lost out, he got many new presents eagerly ripping off the wrapping paper in what must have been world record time. Harry got new toys, a couple of colouring books and about 10,000 colouring pens and pencils seeing that Harry seemed to eat them. He got more children's books, about ten sets of clothes that would last him through to next year.

His clapped his hands and bounced around after opening each of them and after Harry had opened around thirty presents Sirius and Remus grabbed one of his tiny hands in each of their own and led him to the back garden where his main present stood.

A gleaming black car awaited him. The car was just small enough for Harry to ride and could go speeds of up to fifteen miles per hour. This had cost Remus a whole £2000 but in their minds every penny was worth it seeing that they couldn't buy Harry a broomstick yet as they did not want to risk a visit to Diagon Alley again. The money was again well justified when Harry squealed with joy and ran over to the car bellowing "MINE, MINE, MINE" at full volume.

Sirius and Remus made their way casually to the car and put Harry in the seat the right way. They showed him how to operate the car properly but regretted standing in front of the car when only their sharp reflexes managed to get the pair out of the way in time. Harry was acting like a rampant child, driving around the garden shouted incomprehensible words every two seconds.

Sirius and Remus decided that they weren't going to get Harry to stop anytime soon from his rampage and both quickly went inside. The pair agreed one of them should keep watch on Harry so Remus grabbing a book from the bookshelf that adorned one corner of the living room, sat down outside. 

It was a warm night even in the North of Scotland but after two hours of constant play, Remus and Sirius, who swapped "guard duty" as they put it every thirty minutes got tired of waiting for Harry to finish playing with his new toy. The Marauders finally caught up with Harry and managing to stop the car got the now pouting child out.

"Pwease Uncle Padfoot, a whittle more, pwease!" Harry asked his Godfather in his still developing speech but didn't wait for an answer and quickly tried jumping back in the car.

Remus was quickly on hand to pick the small child up and proceeded to carry the now squirming and wriggling child who was pretending to cry indoors. Sirius followed laughing at the attempts Harry was making to get out of Remus's grip knowing that there was no chance that Harry would.

Once Remus had sat Harry down, he locked the back doors preventing the child's escape but that did not deter Harry who went straight to the doors and continued his efforts to get back to his favourite toy. He continued this for five minutes pounding harder and harder. Then he started shouting open at the door in a loud voice while his "uncles" just laughed.

However on the third try they were astounded to hear the lock click and the door opening slightly allowing the now ecstatic child to make his bid for freedom. Remus jumped out of his chair and started to close the gap when he heard Sirius say:

"Accio Harry" The boy who had just started making his way through the slight crack in the door came flying to his Godfather who caught the boy easily and held him firmly as he wriggled to escape. After Remus had re-locked the doors with a more complex locking charm he turned to his friend.

"Padfoot, how many times have I told you not to summon Harry. You are not suppose to summon humans no matter what, apart from if they are in danger. Harry wasn't so what do you have to say for yourself?" Remus sternly told Sirius a glint in his eye as Sirius had been warned about this many times. Every "get Harry for me" that Remus had told Sirius for a while had just ended up with the man summoning the child. Until Remus decided to curse Sirius every time he did it.

Harry was laughing at his Godfather, understanding that Remus was mad at Sirius and Harry agreed, the man was stopping Harry from playing with his favourite toy.

Sirius though just grinned at his friend and with a concentrated thought the locking charm was undone and the back door opened again. "Well Remus I do have something to say." Sirius said in a sorry sounding tone. "Exsilium". With that Remus flew out of the back door as the banishing charm took affect and landed on the ground with a thud. "Accio" Remus's wand came flying to Sirius who just grinned more. With another wave of his wand he repeated the locking charm on the doors several times and after putting Harry down proceeded through the ground floor of the house repeated the procedure on all the windows and the front door.

Remus was by now aware of his situation and was sure that Sirius wouldn't let him back in until morning, he picked up his book which was thankfully more like a tomb and started reading. Although it was mid-July the island was near the edge of the Arctic Circle so it never got that warm and the nights though not freezing were cold. _"I'll get that mutt back"_ was Remus's thought before he started to read his book.

Sirius gleefully sat down and saw Harry watching Remus. With a flick of his wand blackout blinds were created and Harry seeing that he couldn't watch Remus waddled over to the shelf and picking up a book and giving it to Sirius, Godfather and Godson sat down in the warm and began to read. It had been a very happy birthday.

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AN

Another chapter gone. I know that was very short and the next chapter could be around the same length but I really want get the plot moving and get Harry older so he could have some input.

I hope to get this story to around 45,000 words by the time I go Skiing on Feb. 13 where I will unfortunately be unable to post for about ten days but I hope to leave you with a few chapters.

AFI-Boy: Yeah, I re-read the part and changed it. Thanks for pointing it out and this why I am wondering if I need a beta reader. What do you think my faithful reviewers/bosses?

If any of you know of any similar stories to mine please let me know, I love reading Sirius/Harry stories.

What do you think about Dumbledore? Good / Evil? It is still up in the air just like most of the plot so come on, ideas people!

Next chapter should hopefully be up on Saturday.

Cheers

Halstead


	7. Preparing for Justice

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 7: Preparing for Justice

31st July 1984

"Padfoot, I'm four today, open presents now!" The four years old child as of today shouted at his Godfather who was groaning and spluttering about being woken up at 6:00am in the morning by a hyperactive child.

"Go away Harry, Padfoot needs his sleep!" Sirius managed to get out before his head hit the pillow again and soon went back to doing his favourite hobby, sleep. What Harry did not know was Sirius had been up till 2 AM wrapping Harry's presents seeing Remus couldn't do it because of the moon.

Harry was a boy not be said no to lightly especially on his birthday so going downstairs he saw Moony who was sitting at the table looking tired and weary, the full moon being just two nights ago. Sirius and Remus had told Harry about Remus being a werewolf and that the shed in the garden was totally off-limits and if they ever saw him in there they would take his magic away. Of course they couldn't do such a thing but Harry didn't know that so he was sufficiently scared. He didn't care at all about Remus being a werewolf and thought about him no differently.

"Moony, it's my birthday!" Harry said bouncing up to Remus and tackling him where he sat in a big hug.

"I know Harry, four today. Happy Birthday" Remus spoke softly to the child as he returned the hug. "What are you doing down here so early?" Remus asked Harry who was by now bouncing round the kitchen.

"Padfoot won't get up. I woke him and he just went back to sleep. So I am going to try again." Harry told Remus with an evil grin on his face and a glint in his eye.

Remus knew that look all too well, it was the one that James had whenever a prank was upcoming that he would really enjoy. Remus groaned to himself.

"What are you planning to do Harry?" Remus asked the child who was now putting on his innocent face that said "Nothing, I am just a good little boy". Remus knew this was false, as they had been living together for around 3 years now and Harry was anything but a little good child, he was plain evil when it came to pranks. "Just like Padfoot" Remus mused to himself as he knew Sirius wouldn't appreciate teaching Harry pranks after Harry had woke him up.

Harry didn't reply but kept looking through the cupboards until he found what he was looking for, a jug. Filling it up with water he asked Remus to put a coldness charm on it and Remus didn't mind seeing as once Sirius was up they could get the tiring day that Remus knew it was going to be over with.

Harry did the only thing he could of done in the situation, ran straight up to his Godfather's room and dumped the jug full of ice cold water straight over his head.  


Sirius shot straight up in bed with a shout of shock from having his head drenched. He picked his wand off the bedside table and with a flick the drying charm was cast and leaping out of bed Sirius pulled on his clothes and chased after his Godson who was going to get so wet.

Harry ran down the stairs and after about thirty seconds heard Sirius follow. As soon as Sirius saw the child he with a flick and a swish of the wand drenched the boy from head to foot with ice cold water.

Remus seeing this did the same charm on Harry that Sirius did on himself drying the boy. With a stern glare at the other occupants in the house, he rose to make breakfast.

"What do you want for breakfast today Harry, birthday boy's choice." Remus said happily looking at the child who was bouncing up and down again like a hyperactive rabbit.

"Pancakes, Pancakes!" Harry chanted which made Remus groan. He could cook very well for a man but pancakes was one of those things although he can cook them; he was never very good at.

"Yeah Moony, Pancakes, Pancakes!" Sirius joined in the chant, a evil glint in his eye knowing his friend has trouble cooking them but having had them they always turn out fine.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your coat in a twist Padfoot." Remus smirked at his friend who hates people making jokes about his animagus form. This put an end to the terrible twosome chanting "pancakes, pancakes" over and over again, which gave Remus's headache a much-needed rest.

Once breakfast had been made and all three hungry people had been fed and watered it was time for Harry to open his presents that this year were mostly wizarding. Remus had risked going to Diagon Alley this time as the pair had decided it was time Harry had more interactions with the wizarding world and the objects that reside in it.

Harry with inhuman speed raced into the living room where in one corner lay a large pile of presents that he almost dived into and grabbing the first parcel he began to tear open his gifts. Sirius and Remus followed at a leisurely pace and taking out the camera the pair took turns in taking pictures of Harry who not really looking at his presents just proceeded to pull of all the wrapping paper. Once he had done all that he started to look through the assortment of wizarding goods that Remus and Sirius had purchased.

There was books, some wizarding stories, some on Quidditch and a couple on Potions. Harry spent most of the time looking at the books on Quidditch and could barely keep his eyes off of them as he moved them to one side with care. Next he pulled a beautiful robe out of the pile and immediately without prompt put it on.

"Look Moony, look Padfoot, I look like a real wizard!" Harry delighted after seeing the robes the majority of people in the wizarding books wear.

"Yeah Harry you look great." Sirius replied. He was proud and it was evident in his voice as he looked at the sheer joy and delight Harry got from wearing his robes which were black with forest green trimmings. Remus had purchased them from Madame Maxim's using measurements the pair had taken off Harry the day before.

Harry went back to his presents and took a few more off the pile. There were bags of wizarding sweets including Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Sugar Quills and many more.

"Can I have some now, please Moony" Harry asked with a tone of pleading.

"Alright Harry but just one you have lunch in about an hour or two." Moony told the boy who nodded his head in agreement and continued to take the packaging off a Chocolate Frog.

The next moment was priceless. Harry who had never had wizarding candies before and had never expected them to be much different to Muggle candy that Remus and Sirius would give to him if he'd been good, got the shock of his life when the chocolate frog started jumping away from him.

Seeing the bewildered and shocked look on his Godsons face and then seeing the boy dive out and grab the frog brought tears of laughter to Sirius's face. Remus was also laughing and Harry turned round and glared at them while munching away at the chocolate which by the nodding of his head and the smile that graced his face he certainly liked.

After pleading with both Sirius and Remus for more chocolate and getting nowhere despite his best efforts, Harry moved on till his still fairly sized present pile and started picking up another present, this time it was a box that contained a collection of wizarding games. It had a pack of Exploding Snap, a Junior Gobstones game and a tutorial edition of Wizarding Chess that showed the player how to play the gam and the explained the rules. This is very useful when the player is a beginner.

When Harry pulled each of these games out of the box, he showed them to either Sirius or Remus who told him what the games were for. Harry loved the look of Exploding Snap when Sirius told him what it was and wanted to play right away but was told later by the two adults.

Sirius and Remus were delighted that Harry was this happy about his presents as they have been trying to make Harry as happy as possible considering they were are all stuck in one cottage and its grounds.

When Harry had opened the last couple of presents, which were books used in the wizarding world that helps a child learn to read and write, he looked happy and started over to the pile where most of his presents lay. Before he could start playing with them Sirius and Remus picked him up.

"You've still got one more present to come Harry, a special present!" Sirius told the child whom upon hearing his Godfathers words started to look excited.

"Really Padfoot, more!" Harry exclaimed as Remus and Sirius carried him outside onto the back garden's patio where on a table lay the object of Harry's excitement, a Nimbus 1995.

Harry jumped out of his Godfathers and Moony's arms and ran to the broom where he almost cuddled it in sheer happiness.

"Is this mine Moony, is this mine?" Harry asked as if the broom would disappear at any given moment in time.

"Yes Harry, although don't expect anything for Christmas!" Sirius joked with the child who at that present moment didn't look bothered if he got anymore presents ever again.

Harry carefully put the broom back on the table and then running tackled his Godfather in a huge hug then proceeded to do the same for Remus who were both happy because Harry was happy. Harry all the time spent near his two "uncles" was spent with him muttering the words "thank you, thank you, thank you".

Harry had seen this broom before; it was the best broom in one of the broomstick magazines that Sirius had remembered to bring to the cottage with him. Harry could recall all of the details and wanted to ride it right away.

"Padfoot, teach me how to ride, please, please." Harry pleaded with his Godfather knowing how Moony didn't like Quidditch very much. 

"Alright Harry, come here with the broom." Sirius instructed stepping about ten feet off of the patio area and onto the lawn.

Harry did just that while Remus went inside for a nap, he was still worn down by the full moon. Once Harry had the broom next to Sirius he stooped and waited for the next instruction.

"Now put the broom down so that the twigs are at the back and then with your palm facing down command UP and the broom should rise to your hand." Sirius told the child standing next to him.

Harry did just that and commanded "UP". The broom rose gently into his hand and looking delighted he looked to Sirius for advice.

"Wait a minute Harry, I'll come up with you the first time." Sirius thought when thinking what could go wrong. "Accio" he cried as an afterthought holding out his hand.

After waiting about ten seconds Sirius's broom, a Cleansweep 4, a decent mid-market model which Sirius only used occasionally as he had his precious motorbike which he hadn't flown in years and suddenly got a yearning to ride it and see if it still was good as ever.

Sirius then showed Harry the correct grip and the way to mount the broom and pushing his foot hard against the ground pushed off twenty feet into the air. He then told Harry to attempt the same and waited with baited breath to see if his Godson could do it, as he was only four years old.

His concerns were unnecessary though as Harry followed his instructions perfectly and soon joined his Godfather twenty-foot off the ground with a huge grin on his face as the light wind whipped through his hair.

"Padfoot me love flying, can we fly around?" Harry questioned his Godfather who nodded his head but held out a hand signalling Harry to wait.

"We can Harry but first I had better do this." Sirius said to his Godson whose face was contorted in pure joy and happiness at the chance to fly. "" He cast on his Godson's broomstick, limiting the speed to 40 miles per hour, around a third of its capacity for speed. At Harry's confused look Sirius explained:

"Its stops the broom going to fast Harry, Moony would kill me if anything happened to you while we are out here. I just don't think you're big enough or old enough to fly the broom properly."

"OK Padfoot, let's go, stop being such a girl." Harry taunted his Godfather and took off soon reaching the speed that Padfoot had limited him to.

The comment sparked a game of Sirius chasing Harry and he caught up with his Godson very quickly although Sirius's broom was old it still easily went faster than the limit on Harry's broom. Sirius though was just chasing the boy to make sure nothing went wrong but it seemed Harry was just like his father, a natural at flying.

Harry was in his element, he felt free as a bird and loved every second of flying and wanted to stay this way forever, the freedom that he felt was only magnified by being confined to one place and Harry got a fleeting thought of just flying forever.

Sirius who had long since stopped flying and just sat perched on his broom ten foot above the ground watching his Godson weave around the air masterfully. It had been two hours since Harry had started flying and he showed no signs of stopping.

Another hour passed and Sirius had long since landed, his broom banished into the living room and him and Remus were by now sitting on the patio having light conversation while watching Harry as the dinner cooked.

Even though Harry had been flying three and a half-hours by the time that he came down he never felt that time had gone that fast and still wanted to fly more. Tiredness caught up with him though and after a birthday dinner and a little time spent with Sirius and Remus explaining how Exploding Snap works, Harry was ready for sleep.

"Night Padfoot, Night Moony, thanks for the best presents you're the best." Harry told his "uncles" who each received a hug before Harry went up to bed followed by Sirius who was on story duty tonight.

Sirius came down and went into the back garden and saw Remus had already started preparing the training for that night. After Sirius set the charms in place for Harry like he always did, he went and joined his friend.

Sirius and Remus had been duelling for years now and their strength in duelling had grown so that now they were so good and evenly matched the duels took hours to decide upon a winner. Sirius helped Remus improve his wandless magic while Remus coached Sirius on dodging and movement. Furthering their need to protect themselves and Harry, the pair had decided that they needed to defend themselves if they couldn't use magic. So on his way back form Diagon Alley Remus had went to a muggle weapons store and picked up a variety of muggle weapons for the pair of them.

On the table before them lay the weapons that Remus had bought that day. There were two swords, four daggers, two bows and an assortment of throwing knives/stars that one could use in a fight. The weapons had cost a fair bit of money, around £600 as all the weaponry had gold blades and the arrows were also made from gold but this was not as much as Remus had expected and he was surprised at how cheap the weapons actually were. Although the blades were actually made of steel and the silver was only used in minute quantities, as a decoration of the blade, silver was deadly to Remus as it was to all Werewolves. Though the amount couldn't kill Remus it had adverse affects on Remus's health just by being near them.

The night that Remus had brought them back the pair had handled each weapon and with a little magical influence and sparring the pair had decided what weapons they would train with. Sirius quite liked the swords but hated the daggers and bow and was indifferent about the throwing stars. Remus on the other hand detested the swords and liked the bow and didn't mind the daggers while he was also indifferent on the throwing weapons. It was decided that Sirius would use the two swords and half the throwing knives/stars and Remus would take the daggers and the bow along with the rest of the throwing knives/stars.

They hadn't been able to commence their training right away due to the full moon but Remus was tonight setting up training dummies like the ones Sirius used in Auror training. These dummies interacted with the person and allowed them to improve their skills greatly without the need for combat between two people. This was extremely complicated magic that involved runes and long incantations that Sirius knew he couldn't do. Sirius had learnt that long ago, just because if someone has lots of power, it doesn't necessarily make them better at things than other people who had less power.

Remus sat down and wiping his brow, signalling that he had finished, explained to Sirius that the dummies would have duplicates of the weapon/weapons that the person fighting it held apart from these weapons would do little damage if the person gets hit with them. He went on to say that the dummies had twenty levels of difficulty. Level One was about as difficult as beating a first year while level twenty was like facing an accomplished top of the field person in that weapon.

All talk done the pair set out on facing there dummies and after two hours were physically exhausted, fighting muggle style was a lot more physically hard than duelling. The pair was quite pleased though with their performance and after they cleaned up and took a shower they sat in the armchairs by the fire with a cup of tea discussing Harry's learning schedule.

It was decided that now Harry was four that they would start to teach him about magic and in magical subjects as up till now all Harry had only been taught the basics of reading and writing as well as how to tell the time. It was agreed that while they would continue with more advanced reading and writing lessons as they were essential. Harry would learn about the theory of magic to prepare him for when they taught him wand magic. The pair also decided that they would teach him potions of rather Remus would, as Sirius for all his power couldn't brew potions better than an average fifth year. Sirius would teach him Quidditch and about Magical Creatures as this would give him knowledge that would help with potions.

They were doing this to prepare Harry for when they would try to teach him wand magic, which would start after his fifth birthday. They would do this as Sirius and Remus wanted to go back to the wizarding world and deal out justice to some people but wanted Harry to be proficient in defending himself and though this might take years the pair wouldn't have it any other way.

The only problem was that Harry would have to use his fathers' wand, as it was too dangerous to risk a trip to Diagon Alley with him. The pair realised this may cause problems as wands were special to their owners and Harry wouldn't be able to unleash his true power and potential with his fathers wand.

One thing that Sirius and Remus were in total agreement though was that it was imperative that Harry be able to defend himself against the fiercest attacks so most of the magic taught to him would be magic that would be useful in a battle situation.

They would be able to teach Harry most spells that Hogwarts taught as Remus had kept and brought with him every book he had ever owned including The Standard Book of Spells 1-7.

These years were going to tough for Harry but unfortunately as Remus and Sirius had found out, life is not fair by a long shot.

**__**

AN

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I love Snow Days! Thursday and Friday's school was cancelled allowing me to make the chapter longer and to make a start on the next one. Long Live Snow!

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Some people may say that Harry is spoiled, in my opinion that is right and wrong. While they do buy him everything he wants, Harry is stuck in Hide and Seek cottage with just Remus and Sirius 24hrs a day, every day so he needs some things to do as he is just starting to be taught things and needs things to occupy himself with.

About Sirius's power compared to Voldemort, do you really think Voldemort was feared so badly just by being quick on the draw and being able to use the Unforgivables well. I think no!

More people want Dumbledore to stay good so I'll do just that unless there is suddenly an overwhelming response that he is to be evil.

Purple Bunny: I get you, that is probably what I'm going to go with seeing nobody wants him evil.

AFI-Boy: All will be revealed next chapter!

Next chapter we are back to the rest of the world and what has happened since Harry was "kidnapped". Any ideas on the situation may be taken into consideration.

More action coming next chapter!

Thanks to all my Reviewers

Cheers

Halstead


	8. You Can Only Do So Much

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 8: You Can Only Do So Much

23rd April 1985

Frank Longbottom strode down towards the port at Aberdeen confidant that his hard work and devotion to clear the names of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin would pay off once he found where they were hiding and talk to them about convincing people of their innocence. He along with Fabian and Gideon Prewett who were walking two steps behind him had been spending every moment possible tracing links to the whereabouts of the location that Sirius and Remus were hiding.

All their hard work plus the fact that Frank is heading the investigation for the Aurors to find Sirius and Remus has led the trio here to Aberdeen where they planned to take a boat to the Isle of Orkney. They were heading there after finding, deep inside the Ministry's archives that the Black family have owned a cottage on the island for generations and it has been unused and left to rot for many years. Further investigation and a lot of subtle interviewing of Black family members revealed that the knowledge of the cottage is limited at best but Sirius definitely knew it existed.

It became apparent that there were many wards that hid the cottage from the world but the pair had a ward-detecting device and this would show the wards and the contents, which was the cottage for a short period of time. This device was untested and came from a source in the Department of Mysteries who had heard of Frank's and the Prewett's search for justice and wanted to help. 

What Frank and the Prewett's didn't expect was the three of them have been watched by some of the remaining free Death Eaters for a couple of months now. Although the Death Eaters have not heard the destination and the information about the cottage on the Isle of Orkney, they are definitely aware that something big concerning the search for Sirius Black and Remus Lupin is happening. Due to spy's in the Order the Death Eaters knew about the divide within the Order and about the quitting of Frank and the Prewett brothers. When the Prewett's got an urgent fire call to apparate to Aberdeen port, the Death Eater who was watching the commutations at the house alerted all the others and they followed the trace signature on the Prewett's apparition.

Just as the three men walked down the pier they heard a number of pops signalling a group of people apparating and the three men spun towards the source of the sound to see around twenty hooded figures greeting them. They then heard the sizzle of magic in the air and Frank knew that anti-apparition wards had gone up and his magic confirmed it when he sent it probing into the air.

It was then that the three men knew that they would be lucky to leave with their lives intact. It wasn't that Frank didn't believe in his and the Prewett's abilities, it was that there was too many of them.

Then on the lead Death Eaters signal all the Death Eaters took of their masks, their smirking faces bearing everything that Frank needed to know. Frank looked up onto the lead Death Eaters face, and met Lucius Malfoy' sneering glare.

"Well Longbottom it seems that we finally meet, I've heard a lot about you and your colleagues, pity this will be the last time anyone ever sees you, alive." Lucius glared at Frank who stood defiantly, knowing that it would take a miracle for him to walk from this fight alive.

"Lucius Malfoy, now my life is complete, meeting you again has been a complete honour. Now take your little buddies and go before I blast you into the next millennium." Frank spoke in a stone cold voice betraying no emotion.

"Longbottom, I could kill you right now without moving but we need information first and if you give it I'll make your death quick and painless. Tell me where is Black and Lupin hiding, we know you know something." Lucius glared at the man who knew death was forthcoming.

"Never, I'd die first." Frank shouted with hatred.

It was then as if an unspoken agreement had come into place, the three knew that this was not some friendly duel, this was a grizzly fight for the death and if they let it happen, they would be dead in moments. So all three men as if in a routine, whipped out their wands faster than the human eye could catch and bellowed.

"Avada Kedavra" Three of the now oncoming Death Eaters barely registered what was happening to them before they slumped to the ground dead as the flash of green light encompassed their bodies.

The Death Eaters angered at the death of their comrades charged into battle and furious duelling started, all three men battling for their lives.

"I need Longbottom alive" Lucius shouted over the roar of curses as he stood back flanked by two Death Eaters as he surveyed the duelling, a maniacal gleam present in his cold hard eyes.

Frank was isolated battling five Death Eaters while the Prewett brothers who were now back to back were struggling to fight off nine Death Eaters together. The battle was going badly and the three realised it would all be over very soon as their shields and their dodging were getting weaker and slower with every time they are used. 

Frank had been backed in the corner around fifty feet away from his comrades and the Death Eaters were moving in to capture him as he knew information that they needed.

"Iuguolo". One of the nearer Death Eaters to Frank bellowed and Frank recognised it as the curse that cuts someone's throat. He knew his current shield wouldn't hold.

"Scutum" Frank bellowed in a determined manner. The curse hit the powerful shield full on and the shied wavered before sending the curse reflecting back to the sender who wasn't quick enough and dropped to the floor soon to be dead.

The Prewett's on the other hand were not needed for information and the unforgettable green light and shouts of "Avada Kedavra" were heard towards the start of the duel. Soon after though, two of their number had dropped to their own curses and the killing curse was not heard any longer. The duel proceeded to get more and more intense with all types of curses and charms being muttered in the ultimate goal of staying alive.

Gideon and Fabian looked at each other they decided they would take as many of them down with them as they could and hopefully leave Frank enough time to escape.

"Fabian dear brother, its been a privilege, give me some time." Gideon shouted over the curses of the Death Eaters, devoid of emotion as he concentrated on his final task in the land of the living.

Fabian knew the look in his brothers' eyes and came to the conclusion that he would give his brother some time. He rolled to the left, dodging a decapitation curse then ducking a slashing curse he rolled once more and brought himself up in front of his brother, effectively protecting him and with power and energy he didn't know he had shouted.

"Trucido" The amputation curse flew out of his wand and hit the Death Eater flat in the chest as it pulverised through his shield and the Death Eater was cut cleanly in half. Two of his comrades stopped momentarily to look at the body.

Dodging two curses and rolling forward Fabian rose up to his full height and in quick succession shouted while slightly changing his wand movement and target:

"Occido, Neco" the two Death Eaters who had stopped to look at their fallen member tried to put up shields but it was to no avail as the sheer destruction and power of the curses ripped through their shields and within seconds they both lay dead.

The amount of power Fabian had used in the duel and his lack of energy meant that he knew it was all over. He hastily dodged a curse but couldn't get away quick enough and the Slashing curse hit him in the arm causing great pain. Using his last bit of strength he ran in front of another Slashing curse that was heard straight for his still chanting brother who was bathed in white light, a look of extreme concentration plastered on his face.

Fabian knew at that exact moment that he was finished, as he lay gasping in pain at the wide gash in his chest, hoping that him and his brother gave Frank enough time to escape, when he heard three "Avada Kedavra" curses. He watched with a morbid fascination as the dreaded green light closed in with every millisecond. His last thought was "_give them hell Gideon_"

The remaining four Death Eaters had been joined by one of the remaining two Death Eaters that stood by Lucius Malfoy and they all sent curses at the remaining Prewett who amazingly with little effort dodged them all as if his reflexes had been increased ten fold.

Gideon had nearly finished chanting and it was with a mammoth effort that be still had control over the pure ball of light energy that continued to grow in the palm of his hand. He vaguely heard a curse being sent at him. When he had finished chanting he looked up only to see Fabian jump in front of the curse and then watched with horror as three Killing curses struck his brother. His body was on auto-pilot and he felt stronger than ever as he side-stepped the curses the Death Eaters sent at him but that was only because he had his whole life force in the palm of his hand literally.

The magic that Gideon was invoking was an ancient magic commonly referred to as Chaos magic. It was terribly unpredictable and in 99% of cases killed the caster as the caster simply had no life force left and as such was only used in the most desperate of situations. But it caused devastating damage and killed everyone and everything in about a fifty-foot radius though the damage depends on the power of the caster.

Gideon looked up and saw the absolute fear on one of the Death Eaters faces who obviously knew what Gideon was planning and he sent curse after curse at Gideon who just stood there and let the ball of energy take in the curse. Gideon took one last look at Frank who looked nearly defeated fighting the three Death Eaters that were left standing while bodies were littered near by in various states. It was to be his time; Gideon was ready.

"See you in hell, its been good knowing you, oh wait it hasn't. One last thing I should tell you though, NEVER MESS WITH THE PREWETTS. Damn I forgot Interficio Interfeci Interfectum" 

After that Gideon let the magic go in the direction of the Death Eaters who were turned to dust as were the corpses and anything else corporeal in a sixty feet radius. Gideon looked up and saw a backlash of magic heading for him and his last thought in life was _"I'm coming Fab"._

Lucius Malfoy who had been watching Frank Longbottom with building rage as he saw Death Eater after Death Eater fall had nearly forgotten about the other two. By the time he saw the pulsing ball of energy in one of their hands he cursed profusely, as he knew Chaos magic, so he knew that every Death Eater over there would be dead and that there was nothing that he could do. As he heard the release incantation he saw the magic kill his fellow Death Eaters then the man himself. Then he saw the backlash of magic spreading out. "_God that fellow must have been powerful. He would have been a useful friend."_ He had heard rumours of the Prewett's involvement with the Orders inner circle but never knew much about them. Lucius cast a Sonorous charm and bellowed:

"Strongest shields up my brothers, forget Longbottom for the moment". Lucius himself put up his strongest shield and silently hoped that that would be enough.

Frank was struggling against the Death Eaters and at the rate things would be going he would be dead in a couple of minutes, he was sure of it. He had used a multitude of curses on the Death Eaters and had taken down four of the original Death Eaters on him and quite fancied his chances at two on one when he saw a Death Eater leave Lucius Malfoys side. The Death Eater screamed a Stabbing curse in a high pitched voice that Frank would recognise anywhere, Bellatrix Lestrange.

Frank was in trouble and on the brink of exhaustion when he heard a huge bang and a crackle of magic, then Malfoy shouting. Frank looked at the source of the commotion and was shocked. Where Fabian and Gideon had been fighting the Death Eaters there was nothing left? Ash marked where the people had been and the loud crackle of magic Frank realised was the backlash of whatever type of magic they used. He quickly said a silent prayer and using most of his remaining strength put up the strongest shield he could muster.

Frank was the furthest away from the backlash and it was this fact that saved his life. Lucius Malfoy having done no taxing magic was fine as his shield held. The three Death Eaters around Frank however had different strength shields apparently. One got blown about five feet backwards, another got thrown ten-foot back in the air and landed by Frank with a thud and the last one must have been badly worn down as he just collapsed never to rise again. Frank himself got struck heavily his shield taking some but he was projected into the air around forty feet backwards slamming into a wall nearly knocking him unconscious.

Lucius Malfoy and the remaining two Death Eaters went after Frank and were closing in fast. The three all sent off stunners but Frank on pure instinct and adrenaline managed to dodge them. He rose unsteadily to his feet once more and proceeded to go out to meet the final three Death Eaters in one final confrontation.

Frank was blocking dodging and diving and had managed to find an opening to use a Blasting hex on one of the masked Death Eaters which sent the person flying twenty foot back in the air. What he had not seen and did not until it was too late was that one Death Eater had crept up behind and muttered:

"Expelliarmus". The curse hit Frank dead on and sent his wand soaring into the hands of the Death Eater who promptly snapped the item in two. Frank using reserves of magic he never thought existed spun run and shouted:

"Stupefy" The Death Eater just stared at Frank and laughed that was until he slumped to the floor unconscious.

Frank stumbled and his legs nearly gave out under the effort that he was putting himself through but he still stood. The problem was that he forgot about Lucius Malfoy standing five yards behind and that was never a good idea. Frank turned to face Lucius unsure of what he could do and the answer was nothing. With a muttered complicated incantation that Frank couldn't quite hear Frank flew backwards and struck the wall again where he stayed and found to his utmost terror that he couldn't move a muscle nor use magic. Frank then heard Lucius cast the charm on him that prevents wandless magic and then he went onto wake up the other Death Eater who frank had stunned.

The other Death Eater who was hit by the blasting curse had also recovered and the three advanced on Frank, maniacal gleams in their eyes. The other two removed their masks and Frank found not to his surprise, Bellatrix Lestrange and Walden Macnair.

"Frank you and your buddies put up a good fight, monumental actually, you would have been great uses to the Dark but yet it was not to be. Now to find out what we came here for, Where is Sirius Black hiding?" Lucius harshly told the bound auror who was still getting his breath back.

"Go to hell Lucius" Frank spat, as he knew his life was over, he wouldn't get out of this.

"I suspect I will, now for some manners, Crucio" Lucius said as a grin passed over his face hearing Franks screams.

Frank felt like his insides were trying to get out, his bones had turned to liquid and millions of white-hot pokers were poking him.

Frank was held under the curse for what seemed like eternity and then asked the same question:

"Where is Sirius Black hiding, tell me god dammit" Lucius no longer found it funny and was getting impatient.

"Yes Lucius I will tell you the truth but you have to listen closely, GO TO HELL" Frank screamed then started laughing at the absolute rage on Lucius and the others face.

Laughing turned to screaming as three "Crucio" curses were cast on the helpless man who could do nothing but pray for it to be over quickly.

"One more time Longbottom, WHERE IS SIRIUS BLACK HIDING OUT" Lucius losing all sense of dignity screamed in the face of the bleeding and battered Auror who looked on the edge of insanity.

While the Cruciatus was on Frank he had slumped to the floor and all previous spells put on him had been undone. He had to end it; he would not become a vegetable.

"Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy. Everyone say Malfoys an ugly git. Hey Lucius one more thing, goodbye, I'd rather die."

Malfoy didn't know what Frank was planning and had just cast "Crucio" once more along with his comrades when in front of Frank a sword appeared. Frank plucked it right out of the air and in a flash before the curses could hit him Frank had plunged the sword right through his chest.

Lucius saw blind rage, all them Death Eaters lost for nothing. He spun round and saw loads of muggle houses that he found sadistic pleasure in bringing to piles of rubble. _"Someone would pay for this one day" _Lucius vowed as he waved his wand and muttered a few carefully chosen words that brought all the wards, anti-apparition, anti-Portkey, Muggle repelling ones down. Then with a defeated nod to his comrades, who were looking at the dead bodies of their fellow Death Eaters, he shot the Dark Mark into the sky and then they all apparated to Malfoy Manor down but not out. Not by a long shot were they.

31st November 1986

It has been five years since that fateful night when Lily and James Potter became the last victims of Voldemort's reign of terror. Since the kidnapping of their hero Harry Potter, the wizarding world, jubilant after the defeat of Voldemort had to face up to a new horror. This horror was supposedly the threat of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin who had not been seen or heard of since they went into hiding.

Attacks from Death Eaters since the downfall of Voldemort have been sporadic, there maybe has been ten in five years, but each one has been bigger and more catastrophic than the last. Although there has not been one in the past year and a half giving the people of the Wizarding world a brief respite, the names Sirius Black and Remus Lupin have become almost feared as Voldemort himself was, but at least people still call them by their real names albeit in hushed tones of voice. The Death Eaters have used the relaxation of security after the death of Voldemort to their advantage. In five years they have managed to assassinate two different Ministers of Magic, kill thousands of Wizards and Witches at the Quidditch Cup Final, nearly bring down the whole of Diagon Alley and manage to destroy St. Mungo's Hospital.

These attacks, well planned with careful precision and devastating accuracy have lead to the number of Death Eaters still being around the same it was after the meeting they had since Voldemort's defeat. As they only planned one attack at a time and every member had taken an anti truth serum potion the Death Eaters still went strong.

That was till the night that Frank Longbottom, Fabian and Gideon Prewett met their grizzly ends but what very few living people knew was that there is only three active Death Eaters left where there had been around twenty. They have since recruited a couple of more members but good help is always hard to find, so the remaining Death Eaters are biding their time waiting for the right opportunity to show the world that they are still to be feared.

#################

Much too much time has passed since Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and more importantly Harry Potter, the conqueror of Voldemort have been seen. It has been too long since Peter Pettigrew disappeared not to be seen again. These people so long out of the spotlight have not been forgotten and every day all of these people and more weigh heavily on the mind of Albus Dumbledore. His head spins in circles every time he tries to comprehend the actions of certain persons around that fatal night so long ago yet he is no closer to solving the actions of people around that night than he was half a decade ago. One thing was for sure, even with Voldemort's defeat, that the wizarding world went downhill from that day onwards.

Albus Dumbledore, the proclaimed "leader of the light", the infallible leader of the Order, Headmaster of Hogwarts was never the same since that day. He eyes seldom twinkled and it only seemed to get worse for him. _"How did it ever come to this"_ Albus thought as he sat in his office filling out meaningless paperwork for the ministry which was in a state of disarray following the assassination of the last two ministers. The new Minister, Cornelius Fudge, a incompetent power hungry man formerly from the Department of Magical Catastrophes was going to leave the Ministry in a worse state than what it was in, Albus was sure of it. He looked tired and far older than he is and he is over a hundred and fifty years old so that is saying something. So many things have changed in the world.

You see, since Sirius and Remus left with Harry many things have happened that has shook Albus Dumbledore and the wizarding world right to the very core of its being. Soon after Peter Pettigrew's escape there was a meeting of the inner council of the Order which led to a huge row between Frank Longbottom, Gideon and Fabian Prewett against Alastor Moody, Minerva McGonagall and Edgar Bones. Frank believed that Sirius was definitely innocent and wouldn't listen to the rest of the inner council and Albus. This led to him quitting the Order with the Prewett brothers following him. This subsequently led to many more Order members leaving when it was announced what had happened and the Order was left in total chaos. It was decided that the Order would temporarily close down and only a few loyal members remained active.

Frank Longbottom, using all of his influence in the Ministry was put in charge of the hunt for Sirius Black despite the protest of the Head Auror Alastor Moody. It was around a year and a half ago that Frank Longbottom was found dead with a sword sticking through his chest along with the Prewett brothers ashes and that of several others on the north coast of Scotland. By the possessions found on their clothing it was believed that they were heading to one of the islands. His wife Alice blamed Albus for not believing Frank and said Franks last ever words to her were _"a great injustice is about to be undone. Don't worry about me, I'll always love you, and that is all that matters"._ It was not known who killed them but the Dark Mark was found floating in the air. The whole world thought that this was the work of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, as they had for the ten or so previous attacks on the wizarding world since the kidnapping of Harry Potter.

With the careful planned attacks that have time and time again completely surprised the wizarding world, everyone lives in fear. Many parents have pulled their child out of Hogwarts in fear of that is where the next target for an attack will be. Even though there has been no attacks for well over a year, the number of students coming to Hogwarts has been less and less and this year there was only 17 first years.

__

"Why Sirius, Remus, Why?" Albus asked himself for what must have been the millionth time. He was missing something yet wise and powerful as he was, he just did not know what and that would continue to haunt Albus Dumbledore but not as much as the answer to the question would. He would find out one of these days but could he really believe and accept the truth?

It remained to be seen.

****

23rd August 1988

Hide and Seek Cottage, now a warm and loving home that housed three people whom to each other were the only family they had or needed. It had been just under seven years since the three occupants had been brought together under the harshest and unfortunate of circumstances but they survived and have became stronger. The training schedule of Harry, the prodigal Boy-Who-Lived-But-Disappeared-Thought-To-Have-Been-Corrupted as Sirius had found out the press name for him, had been stepped up heavily. This was due to a seemly inconspicuous TV report over two years ago that said a body had been found in the port area in Aberdeen, dead for no apparent reason. This was not the main reason for concern though; it was the familiar picture of the Dark Mark hanging above the body that chilled Sirius and Remus to the bone. The thing that chilled the pair even more was that through some unknown initiative they both knew that the man that was killed, no name was released was on his way to try and find them. For good or for evil they did not know?

Harry was being trained for at least seven hours a day, sometimes ten. He was a very happy child though, he loved to learn and read, just like his mother had. He was magically being trained in Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Wandless Magic and Duelling. Additionally he was learning how to fight with muggle weapons as Sirius had, as a seventh birthday present taken Harry to the main town on the Island to buy him a weapon of choice. He chose a sword like his Godfather but unlike Sirius, Harry was a natural. He had also learnt how to fight if he lost his wand.

Harry was progressing remarkably in his studies and was around the level of a first year in Transfiguration, a second year level in Charms and Duelling and at a third year level in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions. He could do "Wingardium Leviosa" wandlessly although Harry can't do much after doing it beside sleep for a few hours. Overall Sirius and Remus's plans for justice and revenge have been brought a couple of years forward by Harry's remarkable progress although the training had barely started. 

Harry needed to be handle himself in a capable manner against a competent wizard because they could try as much as they could, there would be times where Sirius and Remus won't be able to protect him and they both know that. So although Harry was making remarkable progress the hard training had yet to begin.

Harry still found time to play Quidditch and with a set of Quidditch balls he got for his previous birthday, Harry loved to look for the snitch and had already decided that he wanted to play Seeker for England when he was older. Sirius and Remus often saw Harry when they woke up flying around the garden at full speed, the restrictions had long since come off and doing all kinds of fancy tricks. Remus was convinced Sirius was turning into a girl as he had heart attacks when Harry did these tricks. Remus found it to be the most hypocritical thing he had ever heard, Sirius had done so many more dangerous things and brushed the near death experiences off easily, yet he still worried about Harry doing a few little twists and turns. 

One evening after Harry had gone to bed early, tired after a long day, Sirius and Remus sat down to a serious discussion about what they were going to do in the future. They both knew that they couldn't stay in the cottage forever and that they had to face the real world sometime but most of all they wanted Harry to have a normal life like any other child.

"Padfoot we have to start working out what we are going to do about everything. Now that Harry's magic is progressing we really need to prove our innocence." Remus started the conversation as Sirius took a seat in the armchair opposite his.

"I know Moony but what can we do, everyone has been brainwashed by either Dumbledore or the Ministry. As soon as we step in any area magical or not, it doesn't matter how trained we are, even if Harry is fine there will be hundreds of people trying to capture us in a blink of the eye." Sirius gravely stated in a tone very uncharacteristic to his normal jovial one.

"Surely something can prove our innocence Padfoot, someone must know the truth." Moony replied.

The pair both looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity but what was realistically seconds. Then the metaphorical light bulb lit above their heads at the exact same moment.

"WORMTAIL" The pair shouted, having temporarily forgotten about the traitor as everyone in Hide and Seek cottage did their absolute best not to dwell on the past and to look to the future.

"I say that we hunt the little rat down and you never know, we might be lucky and encounter a few of the Order members or Death Eaters we can have some fun with!" Sirius cackled as Remus took in the implications of what his best friend had just said.

"Padfoot what about Harry, he might get hurt." Remus asked in a concerned tone.

"Moony we have to take him with us and hope for the best. We will train him the best we can but I can say that I would rather die than let anyone harm Harry." Sirius ended venomously.

"Me too Padfoot, me too. Let's hope it doesn't come to it." Remus gravely replied.

"Agreed. Now I want you to listen up I have a plan to get the rat." Sirius stated then told Remus the idea he had just thought up.

The pair sat and talked nearly through the night. They worked out the bugs in the plan but one thing still remained. They would need to find Peter Pettigrew quickly as once they left the confines of the cottage then the whole world Muggle and Magical would be after that blood.

The pair head Harry getting up and the pair finished up with Remus telling Sirius that he should get some sleep, he'll take a nap later. Sirius was just at the stairs when he remembered someone that the pair had forgotten in all these plans.

"Remus we forgot about one person. The "leader of the light". Oh Albus you are going to pay for not believing in me. You better watch out Mr. Perfect because when I'm finished with the Death Eaters I'll be knocking on your door." With that last growling statement Sirius went up to get some much needed rest.

****

January 12th 1989

In the depths of the Albanian rain forest, a shadow of which pure evil radiated off, was biding his time, waiting for one of his servants to come and restore him to his former glory. He could possess people even snakes but they could not last very long being possessed by something so evil. So he waited, in his less than useless form for when the day would come and he would gain control of a body full time and unleash his second reign of terror upon the entire world. Humans, Animals even Plants would fell the wrath of his rage and all shall call him Master and cower before him.

**__**

AN

Sorry it took me so long, it was a hard chapter to write as in later chapters I can't contradict events and dates so everything had to be perfect. I must have re-drafted it four or five times. It was my birthday on Friday and RL has been plaguing me so this took longer to type than anticipated.

Plus the fact that I couldn't get on the Net for a week to post as there has been problems with my phone line. Life sucks. The chapter was finished on Saturday!

Longest Chapter yet though!

I want to address the issue of Harry's power. I will not tell you how powerful Harry will be but I will tell you two things. He won't have super powers e.g. All Elements. He will however be more powerful than he is in the book. That is a huge scale over how power he could be. Who knows how powerful he will be? Oh wait I do.

Hope that satisfied your craving about the outside world, back to the wizarding world in a short while.

Nadia Greenleaf: Sorry about that, I should of known. I went back and changed it so that it was correct or I hope so, thank you for pointing it out.

AFI-Boy: Vacation, of course! Explain myself, you might have to wait a couple of chapters but you know what they say, good things come to those who wait. Oh and by the way, you're still the boss!

I hope to get one more chapter finished by the time I go Skiing on Friday.

Thanks to my reviewers

Cheers

Halstead


	9. When You Thought They Were Gone

****

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 9: When Thought They Were Gone

31st July 1990

"Padfoot get up you lazy git, its my birthday" Harry whined at his Godfather who Harry and Remus had been waiting for as he said he would be downstairs for Harry's breakfast. That was 30 minutes ago.

"Ummm, Hppy Brthdy Hawy, Padfoot needs sleep." Sirius mumbled, not even half-awake at this time of morning, 7:30am, which was like the middle of the night to him.

This did not deter Harry who was well accustomed to his Godfather's love of his bed and sleep; he loved it like he would love his own child, God forbid if he ever had one. Harry though due to his advancement in Magic and his love of reading books, mainly prank books, as the cottage contained the most of these knew what to do. Harry wanted to do two charms at once but as that would mean one had to be done with wandless magic, Harry was not advanced enough to do more than one or two curses without being tired so that was out the picture. He knew what to do; he would do one after the other. He knew the perfect way to wake Sirius up, and Sirius wouldn't like it one bit.

Mumbling "see you later" in pretence to Sirius who was know doubt already asleep again; Harry got to the door then turned round. He quickly cast a silencing charm on his feet and proceeded to go back to the bed. Standing over the prone form of Sirius he muttered "Sonorous" while pointing the wand at his own voice. Then he bellowed:

"Clamor Campana" A very loud bell noise, around the loudness of an aeroplane flying directly overhead woke Sirius up with a jump that would of equalled the Pole Vault world record. He wasn't finished though.

"FIRE, PADFOOT, FIRE" Harry then screamed in a voice of mock terror. This proceeded to get Sirius to try and get out of bed still wrapped in the cover. Needless to say 10 seconds later Sirius was laying on the floor fighting to get his cover off. Once he had succeeded he jumped to his feet right in time to be met by Harry's next charm.

"Fluvius" Harry shouted concentrating hard on making the curse powerful. Sirius and Remus had taught him that if a wizard really wanted too, they could make a curse more powerful by concentrating and willing yourself to put more power in to it. It rather surprised him that it worked.

Sirius who had just worked his way to his feet was getting his wand out to probably cast the exact same charm when a powerful wave of ice cold water hit him knocking him back onto his bed spluttering. 

Remus who had heard the noises from the kitchen came rushing upstairs to see Sirius raise from the floor just to get knocked back to the bed. Remus couldn't take the sight any more and made his presence known by laughing uncontrollably and leaning against the door frame for support at the goldfish look on his friend's face.

"Come on Padfoot, breakfast, don't be long will you!" With that Harry calmly walked past Remus and headed downstairs. Remus promptly followed leaving Sirius to curse words that ten-year-olds shouldn't know existed let alone hear.

Ten minutes later Harry and Remus were seated at the table making small talk while eating their breakfast, pancakes, Harry's favourite, when Sirius entered.

To say that Sirius looked angry at being woken up that way was an understatement. He looked like he would rather watch Severus Snape get intimate with a woman then watch the scene over and over again in a pensieve.

"Harry, I know that it is your birthday but you really shouldn't abuse the gift God gave you by abusing your Godfather." Sirius spoke in a deadly quiet voice that tried to sound authoritative.

This only made Harry and Remus burst out laughing louder than ever and made Sirius look even angrier. After a minute of constant laughing at him Sirius relented and joined in.

"Okay Harry, I forgive you. I would have been proud if you had done it Remus, but why me?" Sirius ended on a whine.

"Padfoot you're so funny." Harry said to the pouting form of his Godfather.

"Anyway Harry, we both know what you want on this day, presents!" Remus told the boy with a clap of his hands.

Harry led the way to the living room and saw just one present in a small sized box. He walked over thinking that this must be quite important to be his only gift. Although he was getting less as he got older, he still got more than one present. He carefully ripped open the wrapping paper and then the box and picked out the content, an old shoe.

The goldfish look on Harry's face was almost as priceless as Sirius's face earlier and Sirius got retribution on his Godson by laughing wildly at the look on his Godsons face. Harry regained composure.

"I know we are poor, but you could at least have brought me a matching pair. Now where are my presents you good for nothing gits." Harry grinned drawing his wand in a threatening gesture.

"Harry, have you heard of a place called Diagon Alley?" Remus asked with a large grin on his face.

"Of course I have, it is in every book here, why?" Harry replied with curiosity building in his voice.

"That boot is a Portkey that will take us to Diagon Alley, to get you your wand and other presents." Sirius grinned.

"A Portkey?" Harry was confused but happy.

"It takes you from one place to another." Remus answered.

Sirius and Remus then planned Harry for the visit by giving him a full makeover with the strongest glamour charms the pair could manage and told him his name was to be James White and Sirius and Remus would be his two uncles, Harry White and Mark White. They went over loads of rules and told Harry that if anything bad happened he was to run to a pub called the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry by now was bouncing around the room delighted. The clock struck ten and the two adults told him to hold on to the boot and when the clock struck ten, Harry left the cottage for the first time in his life since being there.

Diagon Alley was magnificent to Harry, it was intense and warm, and he loved it.

The day in Diagon Alley passed in a blur. Harry got new books and Flourish and Bolts, new Quidditch and Potion making equipment and he had the biggest ice cream sundae available at Florecean Fortescues. Harry's last present was a wand of his own, meaning he didn't have to use his Dads old one. It was to be the last shop Harry, Sirius and Remus visited before they made their way home.

All three approached the door with caution, Harry having been filled in by his two guardians about the odd, strange and unpredictable nature of the owner of the shop Mr. Ollivander. They opened the battered door with a loud creak and the three walked together into the small cramped shop.

"Hello, Hogwarts already?" Ollivander questioned with a look of curiosity on his face as he studied the young child standing in front of the two adults who looked very protective.

"Yes, we are going on vacation soon and won't have an opportunity to get his wand before Hogwarts starts." Remus explained in a cool voice that held an even tone.

"Well we had better get on with it then, what is your name please?" Ollivander inquired to the child

"James White sir" Harry answered in his most innocent of tones.

"No need for the sir young man, now what is your wand arm." Ollivander said this while pulling a tape measure from his pocket.

"My right arm." Harry replied holding out the said arm when Mr. Ollivander asked.

"I don't know how long this will take so you two are welcome to have a seat." Ollivander politely told Sirius and Remus who took the offered seats, which were dusty old chairs that looked like they had not seen daylight in decades.

Ollivander then took to measuring Harry and after several minutes of movement and frantic muttering to himself, Ollivander stood up and went over to the counter and pulled a box off from the shelf behind it.

"Here try this one first, its Maple and Ash with Unicorn hair, 9 inches, very sturdy, great for Charms." Ollivander said handing the wand to Harry who knew immediately when he touched it that this wand was wrong and so did Ollivander.

For the next hour it was the same, Ollivander would hand Harry a wand and take it back immediately. As the time went on he was going more and more to the back at the store muttering " I wonder".

Harry was getting puzzled that it took Ollivander longer and longer to return each time he went to the back of his shop. He voiced this question to Remus who told him that Harry seemed to be a very hard case for a wand and that most people only tried one or two not one or two hundred.

When Ollivander came back a couple of minutes later he was holding two very well decorated and cared for boxes and the look on his face was a mix of curiosity, joy and puzzlement.

He opened the first box and pulled out a very dark wand that Harry knew seemed wrong straight away.

"Here try this one, it's made from Dark Maple with Griffin hair core" At this Sirius and Remus let out a gasp "13 and a half inches, very powerful yet rigid." Ollivander finished handing the wand to Harry who as soon as he touched it felt terrible. He roughly handed it back to Mr. Ollivander who had an indecipherable expression on his face.

"So there is only one left, I was saving this for another client but I don't think I will be seeing him for a while." Ollivander said this while peering intently at Harry. "This wand is holly, 11 inches, very supple, supplied with a single phoenix feather." Ollivander explained this very slow like it was meant to mean something to Harry who just kept a blank look on his face.

As soon as Harry touched the wand he felt it, power, raw unfiltered power. A split second later the physical representation of this power exploded. The room was filled with sparks of every colour imaginable and everyone in the room could almost taste the power coming off the young man. All three men were shocked but none more so than Harry. When he touched his Dads wand for the first time, a small shower of red sparks were emitted but nothing like this. It was like comparing the Chudley Cannons to Puddlemore United.

Harry stood there when the sparks died down looking very confused and dizzy. Then Sirius did the dumbest thing known to man. He pulled his wand out and conjured Harry a glass of water. One sight of the wand sent Ollivander into a quivering wreck. Remus knew why, Mr. Ollivander remembered every one he sold and Sirius Black's wand was not an exception. He quickly dived behind the counter with superb agility for a man so old. For a moment Remus fought he was going to curse them but what he did next shocked them. He must of hit an equivalent to a muggle panic button and every place locked and both men felt a variety of wards that were quite strong erect round the shop.

Sirius went and pulled Harry close to the pair while cursing under his breath and went about looking at the wards while waving his wand muttering diagnostic incantations.

He spoke with Remus in hushed tones and decided the best thing to do was to blast through the door. It would be no easy job due to the wards but Sirius reckoned that all three of them together could do it as Harry had just recently learnt it but Sirius hoped that his new wand would help.

Just as they were about to blast the door Ollivander spoke one last time:

"What do you want from me, I mean you no harm, please don't take me prisoner, take anything you want just don't hurt me, I have a family." Ollivander pleaded

"Ollivander contrary to belief we are not evil just look into the facts yourself." Remus told Ollivander quickly.

"On three, one, two, THREE!" Sirius shouted and a split second later a cry of "REDUCTO" issued from all three mouths simultaneously and with an explosion that rocked the building to its core as the wards cracked as half the front wall was blown out.

The three rushed out onto the street leaving behind a dazed and very confused Mr. Ollivander who was left deep in thought.

Sirius, Harry and Remus still in disguise ran down the Alley and quickened their pace when they heard a multitude of pops signalling apparition and footsteps following theirs. They had just entered the alley where the Portkey was and just as Harry tucked his wand into his other back pocket, next to his Dads and touched the Portkey. When all three had a grip Sirius muttered "Portus" and all three were transported.

This ride was different than the last and Harry hated it, it was like he was being pulled in different directions very hard. They landed in an empty stone room and all three panicked for a moment and then voices were heard.

"Expelliarmus" Two voices cried as Remus and Sirius had their wands taken off of them before they realised what was happening. Then an ice-cold voice spoke that chilled Harry to the bone spoke.

"Hello boys, what a pleasure to see you. Good day for it." The voice was full of pure malicious hatred.

Sirius looked up from the floor and snarled.

****

AN

This chapter is now finished, ignore the earlier AN I posted, the chapter has been re-done.

I told you I would get another chapter out by the time I left today, I owe it to you for the wait you had and the wait you are about to endure. The next chapter should be up around the 23/24th of Feb. It's already planned out so I will try my best to get it up ASAP for you guys.

A Cliffie, Ha Ha Ha Ha! 

Oh well, you only have to wait ten days for the answer!

I'm so evil, I'm so evil, Lets hear it everyone, one more time!

Yana5: Wandless Magic will come into it later for Harry, I still thinks he's too young to have it and be able to use it well without being classed super powerful as not many wizards can do it altogether.

Thanks to my ever-faithful reviewers!

Cheers

Halstead


	10. Last Breath

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter dedicated to AFI-Boy for being my 100th reviewer and for what must be the record number of detainments, I mean vacations!

Chapter 10: Last Breath

31st July 1990

Sirius looked up from the floor and snarled.

"Lucius Malfoy, what have I done to deserve this reward." Sirius said in a tone that was full of sarcasm as him and Remus moved closer to Harry with them now both standing in front of the child.

"Black, you do not know how much trouble you have caused me. You can guarantee one thing, you will not leave with your life." Malfoy coolly replied while casting the same charm three times, the one that prevents wandless magic for a limited amount of time leaving the trio truly defenceless.

"Go to hell Malfoy!" Sirius spat out as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Lucius as if reading Sirius's mind answered the question for him.

"You see Black there is a spell that helps find a witch or wizard if they become lost. If focuses on their magical signature. A member of the family can only do it though. When we felt your signature moving this morning you don't know how pleased I was. We found out that you used a Portkey and decided that when you used it again we would divert the trip so we could have some fun." Malfoy said as if torturing people was the most fun thing possible.

"_Damn, my family are the worst. When I get my hands on them." _Sirius thought as he continued to trade insults with Malfoy.

While Sirius baited Lucius, Remus took this as an opportunity to pertain a look at the surroundings the three of them currently found themselves in.

From what Remus could tell it was an empty stone room that looked like it was previously a ballroom of sorts. It had a very high ceiling that was easily twenty feet and was about the size of the great hall at Hogwarts, which meant that it was big. Sirius, Remus and Harry stood right against the back wall that contained no windows and was made of solid stone just like all the other walls. Where they stood was furthest away from the double doors that allowed entrance to the room. There was magic in the air that Remus identified straight away as anti-apparition barriers preventing the escape of them all.

Once Remus had done his scope on the room that lasted ten seconds maximum he turned his full and undivided attention to the people in front of him and that is when he got his first shock, there were so few of them, around ten maximum. This was shocking, as although Remus and Sirius had not heard about any Death Eater attacks in recent years yet he was sure that they had described lots more. He heard Lucius and Sirius trade insults for ten seconds more before another figure stepped out of the semi-circle of Death Eaters and started speaking in a high pitched cackle. Remus would know that voice anywhere and had identified who it was before the mask had even came off of her face, Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Aw, if it is not my baby cousins' pet Werewolf, tell me, does he still feed you scraps from the table or have you been a bad Wolfy." Bellatrix taunted the wandless man in a sickly evil tone.

"Go to hell Bellatrix and take that flea bag of a husband with you!" Remus viciously exclaimed and knew he had hit the mark when he saw Bellatrix face contort at the mention of her husband.

"Never mention him you filthy little Werewolf, you and the other two will pay and I will have my revenge." Bellatrix was literally frothing at the mouth in anticipation.

Lucius called Bellatrix over and they spoke in hushed tones rapidly for what was only fifteen seconds but it was all the time Remus and Sirius needed. Remus saw Sirius holding his side as though it was injured but Remus knew he was pointing to his shrunken sword. Remus then saw Sirius glance at Harry and Remus automatically saw the two wands bulging in his back pockets. Sirius then gave Remus one last look where he glanced to his hands. This meant that he wanted Remus to take the spare wand where he would use his wandless magic.

Harry had caught the basic gist of the wordless conversation and edged closer to Remus just as Malfoy returned.

"Is baby Potter scared of the big bad Death Eaters. No need to worry Potter as when the Dark Lord returns, you will be his first victim." Malfoy sneered at the young child. Harry was almost touching Remus when Malfoy spoke up again.

"Black, hand the boy over and you and the Werewolf can leave unharmed." Malfoy told the man.

"Go to hell Malfoy and take the rest of your scum with you." Sirius spent full of rage.

Then as if by some unseen signal, the ten men in the room started to form closer rank and took off their masks in unison. Sirius and Remus recognised most of them, their was Malfoy, Lestrange, Macnair, Karkoff, Flint and the rest they were sure that they had least since once but the names were not coming to mind.

The next ten seconds seemed to last an eternity. Remus grabbed James wand out of Harry's back pocket while Harry pulled the other but by then Remus had threw the boy to the floor as the curses sent at him flew overhead.

"Finite Incantanem" Remus shouted and Sirius's wandless bindings were off and Sirius wasted no time in firing curses at the Death Eaters who had formed into two little groups, five went after Remus and Harry while Lucius, Bellatrix and two others went after Sirius.

The duels were the most frantic and deadly that either pair had been in but their training left them in good shape.

"Caedo" Sirius bellowed rolling forward watching a Death Eater dive out the way of his strangulation curse. While he was rolling he wandlessly enlarged he sword and in a practised motion he slashed three times at the Death Eater who was rising to feet making sure that he never rose again. He re holstered his sword and just side stepped in time to avoid a curse sent by his cousin.

The three Death Eaters were pushing Sirius into the corner rapidly firing curses that Sirius was just able to block or dodge and after two or three minutes the affect of advanced wandless magic was taking its toll on Sirius. _"I have to finish this soon."_ He thought as he blocked another curse.

"Stupefy, Stupefy" Sirius shouted twice watching his stunners easily being absorbed by Lucius's and Bellatrix's shields. He knew this was going to happen but he needed that split second to take care of the third Death Eater. With a lightning quick motion Sirius had pulled a couple of throwing stars from a pocket and the Death Eater fell two seconds later with two items lodged in his neck.

Sirius dived forward and grabbed the wand out of the dead mans hand and felt the difficulty he would have using the wand yet it was one nonetheless. He blocked Lucius Back breaking curse while dodging Bellatrix's Cruciatus.

Sirius tried to make it over to Harry but Bellatrix and Lucius were worthy opponents on their own while together it took Sirius everything he had and more just to hold them off.

After five minutes of intense duelling and manoeuvring Sirius was nearly over to Remus and Harry and was twenty foot away when he heard both Lucius and Bellatrix curse at the same time:

"Crucio" Sirius knew that he could not dodge and that you couldn't successfully block the curse completely but by accident when Sirius and Remus were practising they found a shield that protected slightly against the affects.

"Tego" Sirius screamed and concentrated his hardest but as the curses hit him, it was pure agony. White-hot knives were stabbing him and his bones were turned to liquid. But somehow he managed to raise the wand he was holding and mutter:

"Stupefy" The curse struck Bellatrix who slumped to the floor dazed, not quite stunned due to the lack of power in the curse but definitely incapable for the time being.

It was pure luck that as she slumped, Bellatrix knocked into Lucius's leg, bumping him and effectively ending the curse. Lucius pointed his wand at Bellatrix right away and muttered "Enervate". That was all the time Sirius needed to give his dearest cousin a present, not the Avada Kedavra present he wished, no he would need his wand for that and Malfoy still had it.

"Blasot" The blasting curse, a powerful one that Sirius learnt in Auror training smashed into the helpless Bellatrix who was sent flying forty yards backwards sliding across the bare floor.

Sirius then saw it out of the corner of his eye, the Portkey. It was lying by the double doors, around twenty feet behind Bellatrix's current position.

"Samsei" Sirius shouted at Malfoy and watched as Malfoy easily avoided the curse and it was Sirius who had to duck from the next curse from Malfoy's wand.

Sirius and Lucius duelled for five minutes each duelling with wands, wandless magic and even weapons. They were around thirty feet away from Remus when Sirius saw it happen, it looked like the whole world was in slow motion…

////////////////////////////

Remus was not doing as well as Sirius in his duel even though he had a wand he was competent with. This was due to the fact that over half the curses were aimed at Harry who had to dodge most curses due to the fact that his shield charm was still weak. His Quidditch reflexes were helping him to an extreme yet Remus was still thankful that no major curses had been sent Harry's way.

Harry for his part was trying to stay out of the Death Eaters sight and when an opportunity arose, which was very little he would try and stun a Death Eater. Harry despite the situation was delighted with his new wand, it was fantastic and filled him with an ethereal warmth.

After ten minutes of frantic duelling Remus had managed to take down one Death Eater with a Spine shattering curse while Harry was able to stun the other.

It was getting harder and harder for Remus to stop all the attacks on Harry and defend himself at the same time. He felt like he hadn't slept for a week but he had to keep going, for Harry's sake.

Remus rolled to the left avoiding an Amputation curse while out of the corner of the eye he observed Harry doing the same as a Stunner had just came his way.

"Seco" Remus yelled as a Death Eater hit the deck to avoid it. Quicker than a human could move Remus whipped his last remaining Dagger out of his ankle holster and using the chance, imbedded the dagger right in the Death Eaters head.

"Explos" Karkoff boomed and Remus had taken to long, he got the brunt of the explosion curse and was lifted off his feet right into the stone wall behind him and he hit it with a sickening crunch.

The foolish Death Eaters though had taken their attention of Harry who rolled out of harms way and one more fell down to another well placed Stunner from the child.

Now there was only Karkoff left standing facing Harry and Remus but as Remus was temporarily down, Harry was left to fend for himself. Curses after curse came Harry's way and he was barely able to dodge and block them all let alone shoot any curses of his own back.

Remus was slowly getting to his feet when he saw Harry struggling, he had to get up and help him yet one of his legs seemed broken yet he had to try. As Remus struggled to his feet he saw Sirius and Lucius in an intense duel and surmised that he would get no help from there momentarily.

"Stupefy" Harry managed to get off a stunner left Karkoff blocked it with a simple charm and sent a curse straight back which Harry barely ducked.

"Poena" Karkoff shouted and this time Harry couldn't move in time as the curse hit his arm, which broke immeadiatly with a loud crack, and Harry was in agony.

"Now Potter, my Lord can use you dead or alive and I know what way I'd prefer you so, say hello to mum and dad for me won't you?" Karkoff spoke in a slow deadly tone as he straightened his wand and spoke

"Avada Kedavra"

Harry saw this green light flying before him and knew what was to come, he had been taught about the Killing curse. His last thought was, _"I love you Sirius, Remus". _Yet that never came as a blur staggered across his path just before the curse reached him.

A mighty howl reached the ears of everyone in the room, a pain filled screech that broke Harry and Sirius's heart. With one last cry of despair, Remus Lupin laid still at Harry's feet.

Raw anger filled Harry and before Karkoff knew what had happened Harry had cast

"Expelliarmus" Harry screamed drawing on all his power and as soon as the curse left him he felt weak and hollow all over. 

The curse though had so much power Karkoff never had a chance. Such the power that Karkoff was lifted from the ground and cracked his head on the wall so hard Harry knew he'd never wake again. At that moment, he didn't care.

"Remus, Remus, WAKE UP" Harry screamed trying to wake the lying man.

/////////////////////////

Sirius saw his friend take the Killing curse to save Harry then he saw Harry surly kill Karkoff and all the time while Sirius was watching whilst duelling with Lucius, the rage built until it burst.

Sirius dropped the wand; it would only hinder his magic now. If you were in the room you could feel the power rolling off of him in waves.

"Paralyse" Lucius bellowed but Sirius just raised his hand and with a slight motion the curse was absorbed by Sirius with no effect.

Sirius then turned his gaze on Lucius and the man took two steps back at the look on Sirius's face and for Lucius Malfoy that was bad.

"Oh Lucius, you will suffer, I will hunt every last one of you down and kill you personally. BLASOT". Lucius when flying across the hall yet Sirius didn't check to see whether he rose, he was already rushing over to the prone form of his best friend and the crying form of his Godson.

"Come on Harry" Sirius tenderly said, "We have to get out of here. ACCIO WAND" Sirius shouted while seconds later he heard Harry echo his shout gaining his Dads wand back, which he gratefully pocketed.

As a second though, Sirius quickly summoned the Portkey and after persuading Harry to take a grip, Sirius grabbed Remus's hand and almost died of shock.

"A pulse" He thought. He held his hand again. "Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes" Sirius's head was a torrent of thought but after a minute he decided that Remus was alive yet barely. He needed medical attention very soon if he was to survive. He levitated Remus and then they were set to go.

As he muttered "Portus" and the three were taken home the question was:

Where was he to go and how?

** __**

AN

I tried to get this out, as quickly as possible so sorry it's a bit short. Big, Big chapter coming up, might take a slight bit longer than usual. I'll try my best.

I'm back! Snowboarding was superb but the twenty-hour bus journey either side wasn't! At least I thought of a few ideas for the story that rock.

Most of you guessed Malfoy, I must be losing my touch, Oh well seeing as you are so good with them I thought I'd give you another!

Another Cliffie, you must love me! Poor Remus?

I was shocked to see that I've reached 100 reviewers already, you guys are just too damn good to me!

A couple of reviewers pointed out the error about the date. Just to clarify, the date is Harry's tenth birthday, 31st July 1990. Sorry if any confusion was caused.

Anyway what House should Harry be in IF he goes to Hogwarts, I'm still not sure what year he will enter if any.

Meresger: If all goes to plan then it should start being mainly Harry's POV in a few chapters, that is if I don't change my mind and kill him! Only joking! Or am I?

Thanks to all my faithful reviewers who make me write this story.

Cheers

Halstead


	11. The Ends of the Earth

****

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 11: The Ends of the Earth

July 31st 1990 (A busy day huh?)

As the clock struck 21:00 Sirius, Harry and still floating Remus appeared with a soft pop, in the centre of the living room. As soon as they landed Sirius rushed to the kitchen and came back with two Potions. He handed one to the shaking Harry who was obviously in shock.

"Come on Harry, drink up. It will help I promise." Sirius gently told Harry whilst drinking the other one himself.

Sirius was now stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had to get Remus medical attention now and as Hogwarts was not in session, St. Mungo's was the only place with the facilities to help Remus. Yet as soon as he stepped in public he knew it would be extremely hard to get away. _"But Moony is worth it!"_ Sirius bitterly thought. Then he suddenly had an idea, brilliant and the only hope yet he was loath to use it, as it would mean putting Harry at some risk. He had to try though, for Moony.

"Harry, now I am going to ask you to do something for me but please before you say anything hear me out." Sirius after getting an accepting nod from Harry went on to briefly explain what he was going to do and what Harry had to do and say. Harry by the look of it didn't like it one bit but every time he looked like he was about to object, he took a look at the floating Remus and his reserve strengthened.

"I'll do it, for Moony." Harry finally said looking directly at his long time guardian.

"Thank you Harry, you don't know how much this means." Sirius said solemnly.

Sirius then grabbed an ornament off the fireplace and began to mutter furiously under his breath while waving his wand ever so slightly.

"Right Harry we're ready to go. Hold on to Moony." Sirius said whilst saying a last silent prayer for his friend.

"Portus" Sirius clearly said and with that, the trio was heading to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries hoping that they were in time to save their best friend.

///////////////////////

It was seconds later that the trio landed in the entrance hall of St. Mungo's for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Once they had landed the world stopped, or so it seemed. For five seconds anyone that was either in the entrance hall or by the receptionists' desk stopped frozen in shock at what had just happened. The Dark Lord was holding the Boy-Who-Lived or someone that looked like him as he had not been seen for about nine years and his number two albeit out of the frame at the moment, had just apparated into St. Mungo's. Then the panic started…

Witches and Wizards ran to the exit as fast as they could screaming and yelling about their lives and their families. Some people were frozen to their places while only one person; one person out of around sixty in the entrance hall drew his wand at the formidable form of Sirius Black.

"This is why people will never be able to fully defeat the dark, fear" Sirius mused to himself as he bellowed;

"Stupefy, Stupefy, Expelliarmus" The curses in quick succession ripped through the mans' shield and in seconds he was unconscious and his wand was in Sirius's hand, which he pocketed, you never know when you might need a wand.

Grabbing Harry in a way that might suggest that he be forcefully detaining him in place where he could injure him at any moment, Sirius with all of his formidability on display, strode up to the front desk. This was where the receptionist was still, frozen in place by the events that were transpiring around her.

"We need to see a Healer, He's is grievously injured, NOW" Sirius shouted in the women's face as she still sat still as Sirius pointed at the floating Remus.

"Please don't hurt me, please I have a family." The woman was in hysterics thinking that she was praying for her life.

"Hurry Up" Sirius shouted loudly in his most menacing tone of voice that he hoped would scare the women into action.

"P----L---E-----A---S—E" The women managing to gasp as she looked like she was in the middle of a panic attack.

Then things started to go wrong. An alarm bell wailed and Sirius felt additional wards being erected while the place went into a lock down.

"Tell them to stop the alarms and undo all the barriers or I'll kill the boy and you wouldn't want that on your conscience would you." Sirius's tone started out threatening but ended a dangerous coaxing voice.

Upon hearing this, the women quickly pressed a button on her desk and whispered feverishly for a few seconds. Sirius waited not wanting to waste anymore time.

"It's done." The woman managed to choke out before collapsing in a dead faint.

Sirius sighed in relief and quickly made his way to the lift where he quickly pressed the button for the fourth floor, Spell Damage. As the lift made its way up their was a tense silence where Sirius was thinking that getting in was the easy bit, getting out was going to be problem.

Harry was worried. Not for himself but for his Godfather who had honestly told him that if they were caught they were going to get the Dementors Kiss, which Harry had read about and was sickened, how could the wizarding world let the Dementors do that? He was also deeply concerned that Moony was not going to pull through and the very thought almost broke his heart.

As the bell pinged and the lift door opened, it was like a ghost town. There was nobody to be seen and not a sound could be heard. It looked like when the word was spread that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin was in the building everyone had literally stopped what they were doing straight away and hid. This was evident from the numerous objects that littered the corridor.

Sirius had finally had enough. Moony was dying and no one would stop Sirius getting help. He approached the first door on his right and trying the handle he found it was locked. In an instant his wand was out.

"Alohomora" He said and watched as that did nothing. Obviously they had used a complicated locking charm on the door and in any other situation Sirius might have been impressed but not today.

"Blasot" With the power Sirius put behind it the door never stood a chance and was blown off of its hinges by the raw energy behind the curse.

As he entered Sirius found four people that were wearing the lime green robe of St. Mungo's and all looked like healers pressed up against the back wall, fear evident on their features yet their wands were drawn. When they saw whom Sirius was holding they immeadiatly recognised Harry Potter as every year the Daily Prophet dedicated the issue on July 31st to their hero and showed a picture of what he would like now. Just today the healers had seen a picture that looked remarkably like him but now they were face to face with the scared child. One look and a snarl from Sirius curbed the threat though and all the men lowered their wands and trembled waiting for the curses to start. With a flick of his wand Remus was laid down in the empty bed the room possessed and Sirius started to address the healers:

"Now before you get any funny ideas about heroics, just know, point that wand anywhere other than at him and Mr. Potter will not live to get his Hogwarts letter!" Sirius menacingly pointed out while Harry made a show of looking terrified.

The healers stood there looking from Sirius to Remus to Harry and then back to Sirius again before one spoke up seeing the more and more agitated look on the mans face.

"Mr. Black sir, what is wrong with him?" The healer asked gently hoping he wouldn't be cursed before speaking out of turn.

"He was hit by Avada Kedavra." Sirius explained, then seeing the shocked faces continued, " He's a Werewolf as you probably know. I don't know how he lives but he does. He is fading fast so HURRY." Sirius shouted at the healers who all jumped then promptly went to help Remus.

Sirius glad to see his friend was finally getting some help was not really shocked when he heard the alarms and felt the wards erect themselves again. One thing was different this time though. The wards were not on this floor and the Ground Floor; Sirius could feel it in the magical energy. This led Sirius to believe that Aurors and Hit wizards were already downstairs and they were planning their next move.

To counter this Sirius drew his wand and almost rolling his eyes when he witnesses the healers flinch, started to speak incoherently fast watching as the tinge of magic entered the air as the wards he was creating erected themselves. With a flick of the wand the door was re-attached and with a few chosen wards the door was securely sealed and with a longer incantation the door, walls and ceiling in the room were magically reinforced. Next Sirius added anti-apparition and anti-Portkey wards of his own so there was to be no entrance or exit to the room. Lastly he tied the wards to himself so that he could enter and exit and so could anyone with him. Another advantage of tying the wards to the caster is that they draw power from the caster and this made Sirius's wards very strong. The disadvantage was that if people attacked the wards to much, it would drain to much magical power for Sirius to be able to duel properly and could result in his death hence why tying of wards wasn't used that often.

All the while Sirius was erecting the wards he was holding Harry but it was in a loose way that could be mistaken for, had someone not known the situation, as a affectionate gesture. Sirius quickly conjured a chair and sat down placing Harry on the floor in front of him, using his legs to give the impression that he was holding him in place while in reality Harry made no attempt to escape.

As Sirius sat, he observed the healers were frantically either waving their wands at Remus or injecting Potions in to him while discussing his treatment in hushed tones not wanting to anger Sirius. Sirius really didn't care what they did as long as Remus would be all right.

After about ten minutes when the healers had done all they could be it using charms or Potions, they backed nervously away from Remus to the corner, still afraid of angering Sirius. Sirius seeing the predicament conjured up chairs for all the men who hastily took a seat.

Another five minutes passed before anything happened but when it did it shocked everyone present in the room, Remus started thrashing around looking like he was in deep pain. His limbs flew everywhere and he started to howl in a voice that can only be described as pure agony. To everyone it looked like Remus was battling to stay alive as he sometimes went deadly still, only to resume thrashing around seconds. When he finally went deadly still for more than a few seconds, the healers jumped to their feet waving their wands in a frantic manner. All fear aside, the healers were shouting at each other about what to do as according to one of them " in twenty years I've never seen such a case, he should be dead!" Finally one of them hurried to the cabinet at the back of the room and pulled out a Potion that shone bright blue and Sirius could almost feel the magical power in the vial.

The healers hurriedly gave Remus the Potion but it look like even though he was unconscious, it looked like he was trying to reject the Potion. His body then proceeded to thrash around for a few moments before Remus went still and looked like he went into a deep sleep. Sirius was confused at what had just taken place and needed answers.

"What have you just done to him, will he be all right?" Sirius asked in a concerned tone that shocked the doctors who thought that the voice that came out of Sirius's mouth couldn't have sounded more opposite to that of a supposed Dark Lord.

"Well Mr. Black sir, you see that erm, erm, your friend suffered grievous internal injuries. It seems that to the best of our knowledge the erm wolf inside Mr. Lupin fought to keep the human side in and succeeded but caused great internal damage in doing so. The last Potion that you saw us give Mr. Lupin was a Potion that puts the recipient into a healing coma that allows the patient to recover from life threatening injuries. The Potion is particularly strong and the resistance you saw was the wolf inside Mr. Lupin battling to get out, as he won't be able to transform while in the state of a coma. We don't know how long it will take for Mr. Lupin to heal, if he ever does." The healer who had stood up for the group spoke with a confident tone although when he revealed the last part his voice shook fearing retribution from Sirius.

"Thank you." Sirius said to the healers with an even face although his eyes betrayed the relief and delight he was feeling at the news that his only friend was to be all right probably.

Seconds later Sirius heard footsteps up the halls and knew that the Aurors were coming. Then suddenly he heard confident footsteps walk down the corridor and then he heard someone who sounded distinctly familiar mutter and Sirius after a few seconds knew what was happening but it was too late. It was Dumbledore and he had just attacked Sirius's wards. Sirius immeadiatly felt himself feel ill and he knew as he slumped off the chair too the floor, that he would have to cut the wards loose if he were to survive. Straight away Sirius whipped his wand from his wrist holster and with a few choice words; all the wards around the room came crashing down. Just as Sirius righted himself to his feet and he suddenly thought about Remus.

"Accio Bed" Sirius cried and a second later Remus and his bed were hurtling across the room. Sirius and Harry deftly stepped to the side and Remus ended up positioned between Sirius and the door just as Dumbledore and ten Aurors poured into the room wands drawn ready for action.

Sirius knew as soon as the first Auror, led by Dumbledore entered the room that he would not be able to battle himself out of this one. He had to escape and take Remus with him; He had to be able to initiate the Portkey. Grabbing Harry tighter Sirius faced Dumbledore.

"Oh if it isn't the great Albus Dumbledore to the rescue. Tell me oh great leader of the light. Have you found out yet that I wasn't Lily and James Secret Keeper? I don't think so as I have to hold up St. Mungo's just to get Moony some treatment. Ask the healers did I torture them, no, am I a Dark Lord, no, did I betray Lily and James, NO." Sirius shouted at Dumbledore hatred plainly evident, which for a split second had an indecipherable expression on his face before it returned to showing no emotion.

"Sirius let Harry go, he hasn't done anything to you, now give him here and nobody has to get hurt." Dumbledore said in a pleading tone seeing the seemingly defenceless child caught in the middle of the argument.

"Give Harry up. That's funny Albus. Give to you the one person that kept me going when I felt like falling apart. I'm telling you Albus, ask Peter Pettigrew, he'll tell you the truth. Surely somebody believes me, what about Frank." Sirius calmly asked the old man knowing that he may get another chance without being cursed.

"Frank Longbottom is dead Black and you know it. You and your Death Eaters killed him and the Prewett's; now give Harry here NOW. This is your last chance" Dumbledore warned Sirius who knew by the tone of voice that the discussion was finished and he needed to get out of there right now.

"Extundo" Sirius suddenly cast at Dumbledore who quickly erected a shield that the curse struck yet even though it was a powerful curse; Dumbledore's shield blocked it with ease.

The seconds that Sirius's needed though were brought and he grabbed Remus with one hand while with the other he pulled out the Portkey with the other. Dropping it into Harry's hand Sirius quickly muttered "Portus".

It was not to be quick enough though as all the Auror's seeing Dumbledore attacked had shot stunners at Sirius not wanting to hurt Harry. What shocked them even more was when Harry pulled out a wand and shouted "Protego". Unfortunately for Harry ten stunners was stronger than even Sirius's shield could probably hold. The first four struck the shield but the next six struck Harry who had jumped in front of Sirius, who had moved slightly to the side when grabbing Remus.

Grabbing the now unconscious Harry, the last thought on Sirius's mind before the pull on the navel got too strong was that: "Dumbledore and the Auror's were going to pay for hurting his Godson. He would make sure of that, just as the Death Eaters were going to pay for hurting Remus. Oh yes they would."

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AN

Is forgiveness on its way? Maybe, Maybe Not? I haven't decided. What do you think?

How was it? Hoped you liked it. If you though I could have done it better, tell me and I will revise the chapter if the idea is of merit to the story.

deb-sampson: Thank You, I've gone back and corrected everything so Harry was ten years old and the date was 31st July 1990. Thanks again for pointing the error out. 

Lily Skylo: Great logic behind Griffindor and truth be told that is where I might put him unless I can figure out how to pull off a great idea I had. Believe me the idea will shock every single one of you.

Hexe605: I agree to an extent but remember one thing, Peter Pettigrew!

About people wanting more Harry POV: It will happen but it will be mostly in the second half of the story when he is of school age.

One question to all the Authors out there in fanfic land; don't you find that other people's stories always seem better than yours do? Or is it just me?

Thanks to all my reviewers

Cheers

Halstead


	12. Recovering

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

LISTEN UP PEOPLE IN FANFIC WORLD, IF YOU'VE NOT ALREADY HEARD BARB LP, THE GOD OF FANFIC HAS A NEW STORY OUT. ITS CALLED REPLAY AND IS POST-OOTP. IT'S POSTED ON HER YAHOO! GROUP. GO READ!

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Chapter 12: Recovering

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6th August 1990

It had been a week since the incident that the WWN had dubbed "The Light Strikes Back". Back at Hide and Seek Cottage however, Sirius Black couldn't care less about the public opinion. All he cared about were Remus and Harry. Harry had woken three days ago groggy after being struck by all the stunners while Remus still hadn't moved a muscle.

"Sirius can we practise more magic?" Harry asked hopefully breaking his Godfather out of his thoughts.

"Sure Harry, go out back and I will be there in a minute." Sirius said while looking at the happy face of his Godson who bounded off to the back garden eager to learn more magic.

Ever since Harry had awoken he seemed to have gained new determination to learn as much magic as he possibly could. For the last two days that had been the routine. Sirius and Harry were either practising magic or sitting talking to the comatose form of Remus. Sirius would teach Harry things that would be helpful in a duel while teaching him the standard, Charms, Transfigurations and DADA from the Hogwarts curriculum. Harry was very attentive and learned very well and Sirius thought that if he went to Hogwarts next year, he would be at a seventh year level and ready to take his NEWT's.

Sirius would be the happiest person on Earth if he could just let Harry have a normal school life, starting at first year and letting him do each year in turn while having classes with his own age but alas it just couldn't happen. Sirius and Remus needed to get back to the real world and get a few things straight with certain people. Add to that the rumour that had been circulating on the radio that Voldemort was not dead and is waiting in Eastern Europe somewhere unnerved Sirius slightly. The fact that The Quibbler reported the rumours made Sirius feel better though as The Quibbler was known for its outlandish stories but Sirius couldn't help but worry.

As Sirius rose from his chair and made his way out to the practise area set up in his back garden he saw that Harry had not waited for him to start and was busy practising sword fighting on one of the dummies that Remus had set up years ago.

  
Sword Fighting was perhaps the only form of weapon fighting that Harry had taken too. He had tried to fight with all the other muggle fighting equipment that Sirius and Remus brought but always kept returning to his sword. As Sirius approached closer he saw that Harry was on level 40, and in Sirius's mind that was truly extraordinary considering the child's age. Sirius himself was currently fighting on level 86 and had been for months seemingly reached his limit.

"Fancy fighting a worthy opponent or are you just going to hit poor defenceless dummies?" Sirius said with a mock glare on his face.

"Sure, only I hope you don't mind losing, you are getting old!" Harry solemnly told his Godfather who spluttered at the last remark even though he knew full well that Harry was only joking.

"You're on." Sirius stated summoning his own sword that he polished at least once a day.

For the next ten minutes Sirius and Harry were like blurs with blows raining down sometimes fasting than the eye could catch. Harry could tell Sirius was holding back and was secretly glad as he had trouble blocking Sirius like this and it was even harder to get in any blows of his own. It was only two minutes later that Harry was lying on the grass, sword meters away and Sirius closing in fast.

Harry desperately wished for his sword back as he hated losing especially to Sirius who would gloat for hours even though he was years older and more powerful than Harry was himself. So it was to Harry's delight and shock when he saw his sword come flying back to him. He didn't stop to question it and Sirius was so shocked that with two more hits and a swift side-kick that Sirius found himself on the floor with Harry standing above him, grin plain to see.

Sirius didn't know what hit him. One moment he was going to end the duel as his Godson was sprawled on the floor disarmed then the next minute he was the one disarmed and on the floor with his Godson standing above him. Sure he could do wandless magic at will as well as probably 2% of the wizard population but it had taken him years of training and focus to get to the level he was at but Harry Potter aged 10 had just performed wandless magic without any incantation. Sirius was shocked to say the least.

"I beat Padfoot, I beat Padfoot, I'm the best, I'm the best. I beat you, you mutt, I beat you!" Harry was singing at his Godfather, finally after years of trying he had defeated his Godfather.

"Harry what did you just do?" Sirius questioned his Godson a look of curiosity spreading over his features.

"I don't know? I just wanted the sword back really badly as I hate it when you win then suddenly the sword was in my hand." Harry stated looking quite fearful not knowing what he had done wrong seeing as he had seen his Godfather doing wandless magic frequently.

"That's amazing Harry! I was sixteen when I first performed my first piece of wandless magic and that was with the incantation!" Sirius told the child delighted at what had just occurred and hoping that Harry could at least learn a couple of helpful spells.

It was then it dawned on Harry, he hadn't said any incantation, he just willed the sword too him. Suddenly a weariness that hadn't been there a minute beforehand struck him suddenly and he felt his legs go to jelly then give out completely. He didn't quite make it to the floor though; Sirius knowing what it feels like the first time was on hand and caught his Godson before he could hit the floor.

As Sirius carried the worn out child through the house and up to his bed, he marvelled at Harry's new skill. As soon as he tucked the child safely in bed he went and sat with Moony and told him all that had happened with Harry, as he was sure Moony could hear them. Yet he was worried for his friend, he had not moved since the incident and Sirius prayed dearly every night to wake so the three of them could be together again, the way it was meant to be.

Harry woke feeling much better and after taking a quick shower he rushed downstairs to find Sirius sitting in the armchair reading one of Moony's advanced spell books.

"Hey Padfoot, is breakfast ready yet?" Harry asked as he laughed at his Godfather jumping a foot in the air at the sound of his voice.

"Lunch Harry lunch. It's the 8th of August, you have slept for two solid days!" Sirius informed his Godson who was just standing there in disbelief at how long he had been unconscious for; he had only used one spell.

"Why was I asleep for so long?" Harry asked Sirius as he took a place on the couch next to his Godfather.

"Because harry you have to understand, wandless magic at your age is phenomenal, very few wizards can do wandless magic but I reckon only a handful have done it before they turned eleven. While wandless magic is hard to control, it's not as rare as say Parslemouth which only a handful of wizards ever have been able to speak. The only one in the last century has been Voldemort and now he's gone." Sirius told the child who tensed slightly at the name Voldemort not because of the fear of the name itself just at how he had killed Harry's parents and that it had been Harry himself that killed him.

"Parslemouth? That's talking to snakes right?" Harry inquired thinking about having read about it once in a book of Remus's.

"Yes, its pretty creepy if you ask me, all this hissing business. Plus the fact that all Parslemouths are dark wizards." Sirius stated firmly as in saying it firmly makes it more true than if he had said it normally.

"Padfoot, your boring me old man, lets get some lunch then practise some magic." Harry jumped up at his exclamation and started to make his way to the kitchen when a pillow struck him in the head.

"BORING! OLD MAN! HARRY JAMES POTTER WHO DO YOU THINK YOUR…" Sirius's shouting was cut off when two pillows struck his in the chest and face while Harry scampered from the room to get lunch.

"POTTER!" Sirius roared following his Godson into the kitchen eager to get revenge on his newly formed enemy.

Sirius got his own back during his duel with Harry as he "accidentally" turned Harry's hair pink and skin blue then apologising through his laughter saying his tongue slipped. Harry to say was not very happy and his mood continued to get worse as hardly any of his spells hit him. Sirius was feeling ruthless and decided to use all sorts of advanced and unblockable spells that Harry had his Quidditch reflexes to thank for getting out of the way of.

When Harry had been beaten for the fifth time having an unblockable petrifying spell placed on him, Sirius decided that the poor child had had enough for the day and decided to take a small amount of pity on Harry and let him rest and take a shower.

Before Harry got to the house though he quickly turned round and with a maniacal grin in his eye mumbled a long incantation that Sirius didn't hear or see as he had turned his back.

That night as Sirius got in the bath he saw on his chest the words in bright pink: Padfoot Sucks and beneath it strangely "Just Do It". To make matters worse when he came to wash his beautiful hair that he had loved all his life he found a bald spot. Quickly looking in the mirror he found to his horror that right in the centre of his head was a muggle brand Nikes logo, a big tick.

"HARRY POTTER, THIS MEANS WAR" Sirius bellowed followed by what sounded to him like laughter, a child's laughter.

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23rd April 1991

For the next few months this was how Harry and Sirius spent their lives; Working on Harry's magic or sitting with Remus and occasionally pranking each other. Until finally one day after a particularly long duel that Sirius won again, that as Sirius went to sit with Remus after Harry went to take a shower that had Sirius's for once thanking God.

"P-a-d-f-o-o-t" A hoarse and creaky voice managed to get out.

Sirius turned at the sound of the voice and what he saw shook him right to his very core; Remus was sitting upright in bed looking right at him. He was finally awake after eight and a half long months.

"M—O—O—N--Y" Sirius managed to stutter out in disbelief having all but given up on his friend who had been lying in the same place for months now without moving.

"Its good to see that the one brain cell you had is still there" Remus told his friend with a large smile on his face.

Sirius did the only thing one can do in such a situation

He fainted!

AN

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Wandless Magic heh? Wonder if he can do it again?

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I'm sorry about the delay and shortness of this chapter. RL has been battering me mercilessly. Add to that the fact that FF.net hasn't let me post this for two days.

I'm even more sorry when saying that due to a mound of Coursework that I've neglected then from now until Easter you can expect only two maybe three chapters. It saddens my heart to say this, as I like to update at least once a week. Rest assured during the two-week Easter break expect five to seven chapters and a real advance in the story. Bring On Easter!

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Everyone who has been saying about Dumbledore being OOC read the review reply to Faceless One and there is your answer. One thing; He will get back to normal eventually.

Shuriell: I'm good at Maths, and I only just comprehended what you were saying. Good logic though and yes, you are right. I have got a rough power level for Harry. He will be between two and ten times more powerful than canon Harry but not superpower!

Faceless One: "Slight personality deviation". In canon did Dumbledore look into the fact that Sirius may be innocent? I agree partly nonetheless, he is slightly OOC but he is that way for a reason. He is not arrogant just once he has made up his mind, it will take a lot to change it and EVERYONE will sometimes miss things that were there all along. I'm not arguing, I'm just saying.

CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Thanks for backing me up and for the compliments!

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Jeanne2: Nice idea!

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Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers

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Cheers

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Halstead


	13. What is Right, Not Easy

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 13: What is Right, Not Easy

1st June 1991

It has been two months since that fateful day on Hide and Seek cottage when Remus Lupin re-entered the world to the sight of the ever calm and collected Sirius Black faint. It had been hard work but with months of rigorous training Remus regained his old fitness and abilities despite not using them for so long. He was the first one out practising and the last one to finish for then night. He barely had time to eat and sleep through all the training he was putting on himself. He did this as he knew the importance of being physically and mentally ready for when the three of them enter the wizarding world very soon. It was going to be tough to convince Dumbledore of their innocence but Sirius and Remus were sure they could.

Harry was getting more and more excited about going to Hogwarts and was even in the process of reading Hogwarts a History that nearly gave Sirius a heart attack when he saw it. Sirius then started berating Remus for ruining Harry, by turning him into a bookworm. Needless to say Harry and Remus didn't like this one bit and for the next week Sirius was pranked mercilessly until he begged the pair to stop and give him some respite.

After the incident with Sirius's hair in which he had to grow back his hair naturally as the spell Harry used was irreversible, Harry learnt a lot more in following months. This was part Sirius's fault as he punished Harry at every opportunity during the duels the pair had not holding back anymore. This led to Harry being beaten time and time again. This spurred Harry on to learning more and he grew a new thirst for magic and his progress outstripped anything Sirius had expected. As it was by the time Harry went off to Hogwarts he would have completed all of his seventh year studies in Charms, Transfiguration, Potions and Defence against the Dark Arts easily and would be studying basic auror level spells.

Harry had insisted Sirius teach him wandless magic which he was reluctant to do. But after two days of Harry's magically enhanced voice following him around saying "Please, Please Padfoot, Please" Sirius relented and begun to teach his Godson how to control his own magic and manipulate it to his will. This proved to be the hardest thing Harry had ever encountered and after months he could only do three or so spells without feeling terrible afterwards. While Harry was disappointed and pushed himself harder Sirius was delighted at his progress.

One thing Sirius drew the line at though was the Animagus transformation. No matter what Harry did or said Sirius would not back down and when Remus had awoke he had said the same thing; Harry had to wait until he was older. They promised Harry they would teach him it someday if only to stop the child whining.

As the days got longer and the nights got warmer Sirius, Remus and Harry were out in the back garden doing their nightly three-way duel. They had used many different tactics that normally involved two people ganging upon the other yet Sirius normally came out as the winner no matter what. The rules of the duels were simple: No Unforgivables. Apart from that anything goes, weapons, wandless magic. The last man standing was the winner.

The three stood in the customary triangle they always started in and after giving a slight bow to each other they got started right away.

"Inversio" Harry cried starting the duel sending a confusion type curse at Sirius.

"Stupefy" Sirius replied while launching into a roll to avoid a Stunner from Remus as well as Harry's curse.

Harry blocked the curse and sent two stunners of his own in quick succession at Remus who was busy duelling with Sirius. Remus saw them coming at the last moment and had to drop to the floor to avoid them all the while still sending curses at Sirius.

After two more minutes of intense duelling in which Harry and Remus ganged up on Sirius, Harry decided that it was time to employ a new tactic he'd just thought of and backing off into the shadows he quickly disillusioned himself.

"Accio" Harry whispered concentrating hard and seconds later being rewarded when his broomstick came flying to him. Sirius and Remus were too busy duelling each other to concentrate properly on Harry hence they missed a flying broomstick seemingly vanish.

Harry crept quietly onto the air knowing that if you looked hard enough people can see through the charm. Harry sped a foot off the ground towards Sirius and Remus knowing he had one shot.

"Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, Stupefy" Harry spoke when five foot away from Remus.

"Protego" Remus shouted as he spun at the sound of Harry's voice. He shield barely held all three curses yet in the moment of shielding himself from Harry, Remus forgot about Sirius.

"Stupefy" Sirius spoke normally and was the last sound Remus heard before the red light enveloped him.

Sirius then with lightning quick reflexes spun and shouted while pointing his wand at Harry's disillusioned form:

"Finite Incantanem, Ioand"

The desired affect came from this and Harry's form came into view while the second curse, the freezing curse struck his broom effectively forcing Harry to land. He did this with a roll and came up firing off curse after curse at his Godfather who was caught unaware but managed to block or dodge all curses while moving closer to Harry.

Harry was panicking as he threw spell after spell at his Godfather each more complex than the last hoping to halt the onslaught that was Sirius Black.

"Exarmus" Sirius cried while sweeping his wand in a complex motion.

"Protego" Harry cried hoping his shield would come through and stop the dispelling curse.

Unfortunately for him it was not to be his lucky day and the spell broke through his shield sending him ten feet backwards. Harry heard his Godfather take a step forward and for one crazy minute he thought he was coming to check if he was all right. 

"Accio Wand" Sirius lazily said as Harry's wand that lay only feet away from him.

Sirius then waved his wand quickly and harry felt a tingling that he had only felt once or twice before; the charm that affected wandless magic had just been performed. Sirius then approached his Godson with a haughty smirk on his face.

"I must say Harry you put up a good fight but one lesson you must learn is that Padfoot can't be beaten. Moony maybe might fall for your tricks but I'm unbeatable." Sirius laughed as he crossed his arms and watched Harry laying their. He was about to ask Harry to give up when…

"Stupefy" Harry shouted having had his Dads old wand fly out from his ankle holster straight into his hand. He had not told Sirius but he kept his Dads wand everywhere he went with him in a secondary holster that he had bought when Sirius albeit in disguise was looking at some young women in the street when they briefly visited Hogsmeade to get essential supplies.

The last thing Sirius saw was a flash of red light and a child's smirk before the darkness overtook him.

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The next day after their morning workout had finished and lunch had been consumed, Sirius and Remus sat Harry down and instead of beginning their afternoon lesson they spoke to Harry about Hogwarts.

"Harry are you sure you want to go to Hogwarts, people will ask you many questions and most will be weary of your powers." Sirius started off unsure of how to breach the topic.

"What Sirius means Harry is that we're worried about you and if things get out of hand at Hogwarts you need to contact us immeadiatly or make your way back to the cottage." Remus offered not liking the way Sirius had phrased his words.

"Powers? I've got no special power apart from a huge slice of luck. I mean I can't do anything you can't and I'm no Animagus." Harry confusedly spoke, knowing that he knew much more magic for his age but surely other kids must learn as well. He voiced these questions and noticed straight away that Sirius paled slightly.

"Harry you have to remember that we are in hiding and the magic detectors do not know where we are and can't pick up on our magic. Sure a couple of children may be doing magic but only two or three spells, ones you were doing at age 5." Sirius spoke and while Harry's jaw dropped Sirius continued "Most children don't even pick their wands up until a month before school let alone do any spells." Sirius spoke softy to Harry.

Harry was shocked, he knew that he was very far ahead on his magic but he expected other children to at least know some magic. He quickly composed himself when he realised that this was not a bad thing.

"Won't I be ahead of my year?" Harry asked and Remus with a look of hesitation answered.

"Harry with your power and training you have enough knowledge in certain subjects to pass your NEWT's with "O's". That is why we would like you to start at a more advance year to the other students." Remus told Harry who was very calm looking.

"Now that I think about it I actually expected this. What year am I going to go in though and how'd do you know Dumbledore is even going to accept me let alone put me up in years a thing that is very rarely done." Harry said in a tone of disgust thinking about the Headmaster while knowing the fact of advancing students because of his reading of a Hogwarts: a History.

"Now Harry don't worry about getting in. Dumbledore has to accept you as you are magical even if you have been kidnapped by the Dark Lord." Sirius smiled at the thought of him being a Dark Lord.

"Once Dumbledore sees your powers he will have no option but to move you up through the years but what year remains to be seen." Remus added.

"What about you two what will you do without me. Don't try anything stupid." Harry told his two guardians half-joking, half-serious.

It had been an unspoken statement round the house for as long as Harry could remember that one of the main reasons Harry was getting trained so much and so strictly was that Sirius and Remus wanted to prove their innocence and Peter Pettigrew's guilt at all costs. That is why they needed to know that Harry could hold his own if the situation arose when they couldn't help him.

"Don't worry Harry we won't do anything stupid." Remus assured him.

"Think about it Harry, when our innocence is proven and we take the Ministry for every Galleon they have we will buy a huge house and we can go anywhere we want." Sirius wistfully said to Harry and by the looks of it, himself as well.

"Will I be getting a Hogwarts letter?" Harry asked as Remus and Sirius both kept their letter they received when they was children and Harry wanted to receive his own.

"Yes and No" Sirius said as if them three words held all the answers.

"What the mutt is trying to say is that yes you're being sent a Hogwarts letter but no you will not receive it as no post owls can reach us. However I have no doubt that once you get to Hogwarts Dumbledore will give you your letter." Remus told the child who liked his explanation better than Sirius who seemed to love giving cryptic answers to questions and not be able to speak in plain English.

"How will I get to Platform 9 ¾? I mean it can't be a Portkey can it?" Harry asked not being able to think of a safe way that he could get to the train station without risk remembering the last time they had used a Portkey.

"No, no Harry don't worry we know of a way, it's a secret. You'll find out on your birthday." Sirius said in what was fast becoming his cryptic tone of voice that Harry had grown to dislike.

"But Padfoot!" Harry pleaded though knowing he would get no where.

"Good things come to those that wait." Sirius replied with a big grin plastered on his face that Harry so badly wanted to hex at that very moment.

"Moony." Harry tried again and even used his best puppy dog eyes but it had no effect on Remus who had been subjected to that look by someone much more skilled: Sirius.

"Now Harry listen to Padfoot. I know he may only have half a brain cell but he's right for once." Remus replied only to be hit by a tickling charm.

"Tarantallegra" Harry shouted at his Godfather who proceeded to dance around the room looking like Michael Jackson on speed.

"Serventorus" Sirius bellowed.

"Protego" Harry cried as the curse raced towards him hoping it would stop it as he'd never heard of it.

However to his horror the charm went right through his shield and while Harry felt nothing the laughter of Sirius knew something happened. Quickly conjuring a full size mirror Harry was shocked at what he saw.

Looking back at him was a boy with pink hair, blue skin and a bright orange sun dress. Harry was shocked but recovered quickly as he saw his Godfather laughing at him while Remus was chuckling loudly.

"He looks just like the 7th year Slytherin's did when you cast it on the whole table. You used James cloak and no one saw you until it was too late. The look on Snape's face was priceless." Remus managed to choke out between laughs.

"Densaugeo" Harry suddenly cried catching Sirius off balance as the curse struck its mark. All of a sudden Sirius's teeth started growing and didn't stop till they hit the floor.

"Serves you right you mutt." Harry told him as Remus dissolved into more fits of laughter.

"Petrificus Totalus" Harry suddenly bellowed while sending a wandless body bind behind it with his free hand.

"Protego" Remus calmly said as the shield absorbed the curse. "Now Harry you don't expect me to be as stupid as Padfoot do…" Remus trailed off as he fell to the floor paralysed.

Sirius was in a panic about his teeth and was trying every counter curse he knew but Harry didn't care as he strolled outside to practise more. He couldn't resist one last dig.

"Harry one, Animals zero." Harry shouted as he stepped out on to the garden only to hear Sirius curse in a very muffled tone of voice.

How he loved magic.

AN

Good news! I've done this chapter much sooner than I expected. Bad News is my Coursework is still untouched. Oh well, you can't have it all!

Hogwarts Ahoy People! Do you want the year to run as Canon or do you want a different year? Tell me and I will try my best to please.

Beenieweenie: Who said he's going to get a letter?

Faceless One: I am working on changing Dumbledore in future chapters while still retaining the personality he has shown so far if that is any consolation and yes unfortunately to make the story work Dumbledore had to be OOC.

Midknight: Dumbledore will not be evil in this fic, just misinformed good as you put it so well. The reason I used throwing knives instead of guns is that guns take the edge and the tension out of a battle. It would be real boring and unrealistic if Sirius turned up with a machine gun and blasted everyone to bits. Also the dead or alive bounty had nothing to do with Dumbledore, it was the Minister at the time, Dumbledore had no say in the matter. Just adding this after reading your re-review. You're totally right and you don't know how much it pleases me that you take that much interest in my fic even though you read 30 chapters a day. I do the same, I've read over 100 stories most 100,000 plus in the 10 months that I've been reading fanfiction.

Yana5: Patience is a virtue my faithful reviewer!

Kyntor: Where did I say the Death Eaters knew Sirius, Remus and Harry were in Diagon Alley? I worked it on the theory on that the DE's had got hold of their magical signatures and made it so when they saw their magical signatures on the move they decided to re-jig the destination of the Portkey. Also on the Wandless Magic, Azkaban is a little different than three people and the Wandless Magic preventer is not a Ward it's just a charm for short term use as it can be undone. For yours and now my piece of mind I have gone back to chapter 10 and added the relevant details and if you read that part again I hope it is to your better liking. Oh and thanks for reviewing.

Seriously though the next update may take a while.

Thanks to all my Reviewers you really are my inspiration.

Cheers

Halstead


	14. The World Stood Still

****

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

I recommend Jeanne2 "A Werewolf Betrayed?" If you like fics about Sirius and Remus.

****

Chapter 14: The World Stood Still

31st August

It had been a frantic day at Hide and Seek cottage with all three members frantically helping Harry to get ready for his departure to Hogwarts the next day. For such a momentous day that would end the ten-year exile of Harry Potter from the wizarding world and take him away from his Guardians who he had never gone more than a day without seeing, apart from when he was a baby, the mood was surprisingly upbeat.

Harry was the happiest he had felt ever. He had two loving guardians and he was about to go to Hogwarts that he had been hearing about since he was a baby and best of all he was going to prove his guardians innocent if it was the only thing he accomplished this year.

Harry had especially enjoyed his birthday and finally got to know what his special gift was; Sirius and Remus taught him how to apparate. They had woken him at four in the morning by pouring cold water on him and as soon as he went for his wand they stunned him. Harry woke up a short while later on the coast with a smirking Sirius and Remus standing over him shouting "Happy Birthday". All could think was _"Sirius obviously hasn't forgotten that animal comment in a hurry"_

After recovering from the initial shock where Harry had to stem the urge to stun Sirius for being so smug, the pair set to teaching Harry the theory of apparition and the common traps that most wizards fall into when getting it wrong. Two long hours later and Harry was able to apparate a few feet and was getting further on each try. Due to the fact that it was his birthday and the fact that Sirius and Remus didn't want Harry to suffer from magical burnout they called an end to the lesson and went home for a birthday breakfast. 

Once that was out of the way the day went better than could have been expected. Harry nearly cried with joy at the owl Remus had managed to buy him and named the owl Hedwig after a name in one of his books on Magical Creatures. The pair had also bought Harry any last minute items he may need and all in all prepared him for a year at Hogwarts. This included a trunk that had three compartments. While not the most spacious trunk on offer it would hold everything Harry needed and more so it was not necessary to get Harry one with his own personalised dungeon in.

The month between his birthday had gone in an extraordinarily quick fashion as though the world was hurrying the re-entry of Harry Potter in to society. His training in apparition had gone well and he was now fully qualified in the sense that Remus and particularly Sirius could trust him to apparate correctly without them worrying that he may have done it wrong. His learning schedule had been slowed down, as Harry in certain areas of the curriculum knew more than most seventh year students. Of course this didn't stop Harry practising his duelling and sword fighting as much as ever as he really loved doing these activities and hoped that he would get a chance to continue with them once he arrived at Hogwarts.

Harry had been doing a lot of thinking in the month that had just passed and now on the 31st of August 1991 he found himself ready to enter the world that had labelled him a hero, to seek justice for the two people he cared mostly about. Sirius and Remus had told him that he would be subjected to a hell of a lot of attention as he was one of the most famous wizards ever and apparently a public hero. This had little affect on Harry as he didn't quite comprehend just how famous he was, in his mind it was just luck and the only thing special about him was a stupid scar that he hated.

Harry however had absolutely no intention of telling his guardians his plans concerning the school year. He was going to get their freedom if it killed him. They had done so much for him and it was time he repaid the favour. Of course there was the little matter of Dumbledore, the oaf of a minister Fudge who Remus had told him about and how it was likely that he would make life hard for Harry. Not to mention Voldemort to deal with if the rumours are to be believed. But if there's one thing Harry James Potter liked it was a challenge.

As he lay down to sleep for the night, his thoughts pondering what could be and what could have been he decided one thing, the three Marauders would return and he would lead the way in style. For one thing you can say about Harry, he don't do things by half, not by a long shot.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

September 1st, just another day for billions of people around the world but not for the inhabitants of Hide and Seek cottage, it was the end of an era. Sirius and Remus being the kind and considerate guardians that they are decided to charm Harry's school robes pink and the unfortunate child spent half an hour muttering counter-curses until he found the one that worked. All the time Harry was cursing "those two flea-bags" under his breath using words that Sirius was shocked to hear coming from his mouth but then remembered that he was probably the one that taught him so he kept his mouth shut. That prompted Remus to lecture him for a while after he had stopped laughing at Harry's robes. This only turned into another shambles though as when Remus threatened to wash out Harry's mouth out with soap and got a reply in the tune of "I'd like to see you try". Sirius thought that it would be funny to conjure a bar of soap to chase his Godson around. After about ten minutes Sirius repented on his Godson and handed him back his wand that he had managed to summon before Harry, just after he had conjured the soap.

After that it dawned on the trio just how much they would miss each other and when they looked at the clock they were horrified to learn that it was now gone ten o' clock and the Hogwarts Express would be leaving in under an hour. Harry quickly checked everything he had packed and also made sure that he hadn't forgot anything.

"You going to miss me then?" Harry said with a grin that in no way resembled the feeling of sadness that was passing through him.

"No" Sirius replied with a grin that looked about as real as Harry's one was.

"Will I be able to see you in the holidays?" Harry asked the question that he had been asking everyday since he knew he was going to Hogwarts.

"It depends Harry on what the world is like. If we can then you will see us straight away but if not don't lose hope Harry." Remus replied with a tired smile gracing his warm features.

"Remember Harry, no magic until you get to Hogwarts understand. We don't want the Ministry arresting you before you get there." Sirius told the child for the hundredth time.

"Yes mother!" Harry told his Godfather, which earned him a clip round the head from an outraged Sirius.

As the minutes to Harry's departure beckoned a solemn mood spread over all three of them as if the reality of the situation had finally sunk in. Remus took this time to ask Harry if he remembered everything.

"You got your school books Harry?" Remus asked.

"Yes"

"Wands?"

"Yes". Harry patted his wrist for reassurance that his wand was still in the wand holster and then did the same for his fathers' wand that was placed in his ankle holster.

"Broom?"

"Yes". Harry put his hand over his left pocket that his shrunken trunk was in.

"Sword?"

"Definitely!" Harry eagerly rubbed the invisible sword that was slung over his shoulder securely in its sheath.

"Potions Equipment?"

"Yes". Harry said with an exasperated sigh as he patted his left pocket again.

"Pranking Stuff?" Sirius butted in eager to know whether his Godson would uphold the Marauder legacy.

"Of course!" Harry replied with what had become his trademark lopsided grin.

"One last thing Harry." Sirius told Harry after casting a time spell. "Remember, the Marauders Map was in Filch's Office last time we heard, just look for the filing cabinet marked "James Potter and Sirius Black 6th-7th Year, that was when it was confiscated." Sirius told Harry and Harry nodded in response laughing at how Sirius and his father had three filing cabinets all to themselves.

"Sure" Harry told Sirius as his Godfather pulled him into a big hug with Remus soon joining in.

"I love you two, thank you, I owe you my life." Harry choked out; his voice trembling with emotion as waved his hand and a small crack Harry Potter re-entered the wizarding world.

"It's time." Sirius said to Remus who answered with a knowing nod.

"Let's go rat hunting." Sirius viscously told Remus with an evil vindictive smirk plastered over his normal happy and carefree face as he got prepared to find his one time best friend who had ruined, no hampered his life for the past decade as he was happy with Remus and Harry.

"I agree Padfoot" Remus slung his arm over his best friends shoulder as they prepared for leaving the cottage.

*/*/*/*/*/*

With a quiet pop followed by a thankful sigh, Harry Potter apparated into a side alley that was only a minute's walk from King's Cross-Station. He had apparated there with Sirius and Remus the week before as a trial run although they couldn't leave the alley because they didn't want to be seen.

With a casual look about him, Harry pulled the muggle overcoat he had put on just before apparating closer to him, shielding his robes and he started to walk the short journey to the train station. He blended in well with the muggles and nonchalantly made his way towards where Sirius told him the barrier was. He was starting to get slightly worried that he wouldn't be able to find the barrier when he saw a large group of red heads seemingly vanish into thin air as they disappeared through a section of wall.

Harry with a air of ease around him calmly walked at the section of wall he had just seen the red heads walk through and with an indescribable sensation he walked through what looked to be a solid wall.

When Harry first looked up he took an instinctive step backwards; there was so many people. He had never seen so many witches and wizards in one place, even on his trip to Diagon Alley and it was making him feel very nervous indeed. Losing most of his calm and collected persona, Harry quickly made his way towards the train walking as inconspicuously as possible trying not to draw attention to himself while nervously patting down his fringe in an attempt to cover his scar. Sirius and Remus had told him that when they had been seen in Diagon alley it was mentioned that he had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead apparently where the killing curse struck him but the less he thought about that the better.

As Harry approached the train he saw many children lugging trunks and wondered why their parents didn't just shrink them for their kids and when the children get to Hogwarts they could enlarge it, it seemed much easier.

Harry entered the train to a barrage of noise that he hadn't heard while outside. "_Silencing charms_," he thought as he made his way to find an empty compartment, as he had no desire yet to have company.

Harry made his way down the train more and more nervous that he would not be able to find a compartment to himself, as every one seemed full. His impromptu prayers were answered when around three quarters down the train he found a empty slot and with speed most people dreamed of shut the door and placed several locking charms on the door accompanied by a sign on the outside that read "Out Of Order". He was using magic again as though he was still a novice, he could sense the huge amount of magic on this train, he could almost taste it, and the magic was that strong it would definitely shield his use of magic.

Once Harry was settled he took out his trunk and with a brief wave of his hand and a concentrated look his trunk enlarged. After taking a deep breath to compose himself as wandless magic still tired him however slight, Harry settled down reading one of his Quidditch books to make the time pass.

Harry fell asleep reading his book and awoke a couple of hours later if his interpretation of the sky was correct and it was confirmed when he cast the time spell. Once Harry had regained his senses he realised it was the lady with the sweet trolley as Sirius had given him some money to get food along with a pouch of money that he was told not to touch unless he needed it.

Harry quickly realised that the lady with the trolley would know that his compartment was not out of order so he quickly willed his wand to his hand and with rapid incantations undid the locking charms and then vanished the sign. He was hoping that no one would notice that the compartment that was out of order was now open.

Luck was on Harry's side today as the lady with the trolley saw nothing out of the ordinary and hadn't noticed the "out of order" compartment. All she saw was a lonely first year that had a hungering for sweets.

After the trolley lady had departed, Harry waited ten minutes before re-locking the door and re-attaching the sign in case the trolley lady turned round but she just kept going so Harry settled down again to eat the mountain of sweets that he had just purchased.

Harry had obviously dozed off again as he awoke to shouting that seemed to be right outside his compartment. His brain then caught up and he realised there was shouting outside his compartment. In a flash his wand was in his hand and he quickly and as quietly as possible cast a hearing amplification charm followed by a disillusionment charm fearing the worst as he caught snippets of the conversation.

"I'm Head Boy and I'm in charge." The person that was obviously head boy said.

"I'm Head Girl and we're in charge." She corrected the boy dislike evident in her voice.

"I swear someone is in there." A new voice spoke up, a squeaky high-pitched girl's voice.

"Alohomora" The person that Harry knew as the Head Boy cast but Harry knew nothing would happen.

The Head Girl then muttered a charm that Harry couldn't quite catch then spoke to the Head Boy in a low voice so Harry only caught bits of the conversation.

"…Several locking charms…powerful…only a sixth or seventh maybe …teachers may have locked it…both of us together…should be enough…on three…one…two…three."

"Explico" Two voices suddenly bellowed in unison and with a bang the compartment door slid open.

Harry then saw the head boy and girl enter and he could tell that they were powerful as their combined version of the powerful unlocking charm proved. Behind them was the other voice that Harry heard. There stood a little girl with brown bushy hair and an intellectual look upon her face. Harry knew immeadiatly that this was the girl that told the head boy and girl about the compartment.

As the head boy and girl scrutinised the room Harry wished that he could turn invisible but Sirius said he only knew one person that could turn invisible for longer than a few seconds using magic and that was Dumbledore. Sirius after years of practice could only turn invisible for a few seconds while Remus couldn't do it at all so Harry knew that he had no hope.

It must have been Harry's lucky day as the head boy and girl didn't spot him and left with the head boy muttering about Gryffindors, Weasley twins and stupid older students whilst the head girl looked like she was about to laugh.

Where Harry's luck nearly run out was when the bushy haired girl sat to down and to Harry's horror pulled out a book he was familiar with out of her rucksack, "Hogwarts: a History". It was the longest book Harry owned and would take days to read.

__

"Damn" Harry thought, _"She's going to be here for hours, how can I prepare for my entrance?"_ It was if a God was helping Harry today because after half an hour as the train got closer to Hogwarts the bushy haired girl rose and left with one last glance around as if expecting to see something she had missed.

After Harry had counted to thirty to make sure the girl was not coming back he began to make his way cautiously to the trains exit still disillusioned but that wouldn't stop people seeing him if they looked hard enough. It was because he his in the shadows whilst in the carriage that no one saw him but out here there was no hiding.

It was a quiet trip to where the exits were located and Harry only had to pass one small chubby boy who was running around looking for "Trevor", whoever that was.

As Harry reached the exits it seemed from the view he got and the sudden lurch in his stomach that the train was slowing down. After another couple of minutes the train screeched to a complete halt and all the exit doors opened. Harry quickly made his way out on to the platform so that he wasn't squashed by hundreds of hungry students. Making his way quietly past where the carriages were located Harry silenced his footsteps wandlessly as he made his way to the lake. As he approached it was with a pang of sadness that the saw the majestic Thestrals looking back at him with what could have been a look of respect if Thestrals were capable of human mannerisms.

Harry swiftly made his way to the lake praying that people would leave him alone when he got to Hogwarts but knowing that it wouldn't happen. Harry cancelled the disillusionment charm that he had placed on himself hours before and took to regaining some of the magic that had been lost as it was quite taxing on Harry to keep the disillusionment on himself for that long.

During the short trip to the lake where Harry was visible, he mentally prepared himself for what was to come. He knew that everyone would be in shock and that some people may even try to curse him and he may even have to defend himself. Harry hoped it would never come to that as Sirius and Remus had warned him about revealing the full extent of his powers even if he may well skip years.

Harry then had to rush to join the rest of the first years who like Sirius had told him, had to cross the lake on boats just like it had been for centuries for reasons no one really knew just that it was tradition. 

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A booming voice rang out that Harry identified immeadiatly as Hagrid the Gamekeeper who Remus had told him about. He had said that though Hagrid was half-giant he was kind and a good person who Harry should get to know and Harry intended to try and make friends with Hagrid as if Remus and Sirius like him then he couldn't be that bad.

Harry clambered into one of the rickety boats quickly and was joined seconds later by two girls that were so interested in talking to each other that they barely even noticed that Harry was in the boat. As the boats left the shores and self propelled themselves to Hogwarts, Harry was thinking about his new owl Hedwig that Sirius had promised to send to Hogwarts the next day.

As the boats got closer to Hogwarts, Harry saw for the first time the true beauty and brilliance that was this wonderful castle. It took his breath away and a sense of returning filled him as if it was a part of him had been missing all of his life and had just came back to him.

Harry quickly clambered out of the boats and quickly dropped to the back of the crowd as the group walked up a huge flight of stone steps towards a massive Oak door. Hagrid knocked three times and Harry prepared himself to face the crowds.

But Harry being the son of a Marauder and raised by two others couldn't resist making the situation more extreme than it already was. He quickly changed his black school robes for the more intimidating battle robe that he owned using a transfiguration spell that he had learned specifically for this purpose. Adding to the fact that he quickly used a spell to make his hair stick up effectively showing his scar. Harry also used the strongest glamour spell he knew to hide his scar temporarily but knew it would last 15 minutes at most. Harry now looked much more dangerous than he did before.

There was one thing that was still puzzling Harry though and that was how you got sorted. While Harry knew all about the four houses, Sirius and Remus adamantly refused to tell him how it was when you get sorted. Although Sirius had Harry believing for a week that you had to wrestle a troll in which time Harry read up on the best spells to defeat them with. Remus had even gone as far as vanishing the pages in Hogwarts a History that contained the relevant information.

Once Hagrid knocked the doors opened immeadiatly. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there surveying the first years with a stern look upon her face. Harry knew this to be Professor McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor house. True to his thoughts she introduced herself a second later and then went on to give the speech that Sirius says she gives to students every year. Harry tuned it out, as it was something of a competition between Sirius and Remus to repeat the speech in the best McGonagall voice.

As they walked through the massive entrance hall, Harry could hear the buzz of noise that came undoubtedly from the Great Hall and he begun to get nervous. Then McGonagall spoke up again telling the students that she would be right back.

He listened to some children talking about how it might be a test and heard the bushy haired girl whisper all the spells she knew. Harry thought if he did that that he would be here for hours. Harry hoped it would be a test but he got the feeling in his stomach that it wouldn't be that easy. His nerves were eased as he heard a red headed boy tell others that his brothers had told him that he would have to face a troll. This brought a smile to Harry's face.

Just then many ghosts came flying past talking but at the same time McGonagall came back and ushered them in single file into the great hall. Harry was the last but one in the line, a small girl behind him.

As Harry stepped in to the hall he was in awe, he had never seen such a grand place. The hall was lit by thousand upon thousand of candles and there was four long tables to represent each house with what looked like a staff table looking over all four. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. Harry looked up and saw an enchanted sky and it was even more beautiful than it sounded when Remus described it too him.

Harry quickly looked down in shock as Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years without a word gracing her lips. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Harry wondered if this was a joke or that maybe as in muggle fairy tales you had to pull a rabbit out of it and what colour the rabbit was defined what house you were in.

Then Harry was in a state of shock and wonder as the hat opened it's mouth and started to sing a haunting melody that had everyone in the room shocked.

"When the world was dark

And skies were grey

Evil ruled the universe

Held the light at bay

But four refused

They would not fall

They founded this school

Stood so tall

Brave Gryffindor so strong

Smart Ravenclaw wise

Sweet Hufflepuff so loyal

Slytherin's cunning surmised

Years later the dark

Is re-materialising

The world is doomed

Unless you are realising

Evil was not banished

It only went away

It will get much stronger

A world in disarray

But fear not people

The power has come

I feel it in the room

It will right a tragic wrong

The world is on a knife-edge

It could go either way

Years to come will only tell

Whether evil goes away

The dark is bleak

It crushes hearts

Can corrupt poor souls

Don't let it last

I'll give fair warning now

Heed my call

Unite or Crumble

You must stand tall

So be as one

Come together

Let hope brim up

And we may last forever.

With that the Sorting Hat stopped singing to deafening silence as everyone was pondering the words that it had just said. Then the talking started and it got louder and louder until Dumbledore raised his wand a fired several bangs that shut the hall up. Luckily for Harry, Dumbledore was too pre-occupied about the noise in the hall to realise someone was standing there in Non School uniform.

"Let the Sorting commence." Dumbledore said in a weary voice.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. 

"Abbott, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" 

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Brown, Lavender" 

"GRYFFINDOR"

"Bulstrode, Millicent"

"SLYTHERIN" 

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

By now Harry was getting worried waiting in line and could have killed Sirius if he had been there. _"I am going to be the last one left and everybody is going to look at me and wonder what the hell I am doing at Hogwarts. Great!" _he thought

Harry was so worried he tuned the sorting out and barely remembered the bushy haired girl and the boy who was running down the train corridor both were sorted into Gryffindor. He also saw that Draco Malfoy got sorted into Slytherin. He took attention to this as Sirius said he was distantly related to them once and that they were very evil. The hat just topped his head before shouting "SLYTHERIN."

The Sorting was coming to an end and Harry knew that everyone would soon realise that he hadn't had his name called out. People were already beginning to notice him dressed differently now that most of the people had sat down. Once the last person "Blaise Zabini" had become a Slytherin, Professor McGonagall rolled her parchment up and began walking to the staff table until she saw Harry standing there.

By now the whole of the Halls eyes were boring into him and distantly Harry saw Dumbledore rise from the staff table. Harry quickly checked that his shields were erected and were at full strength as McGonagall looked at him.

"Who are you and how did you get in to Hogwarts, you are not on the list." McGonagall told Harry thinking that he looked familiar.

Harry would have cast Sonorous but there was no need, the entire hall was deadly silent waiting for this stranger's response.

Harry drew himself up and let the feeling of power swirl around him as his bright emerald green eyes flashed with power and when he spoke it was in a dangerous tone.

"My name is Harry Potter!"

McGonagall fainted, children screamed, people grabbed their wands

The world stood still, the lost hero had returned.

AN

I Officially Hate Coursework Big Time! Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, time kept running away from me.

Does the Hogwarts Express leave at 11 as I said or was it 10. I'm not sure and haven't got a copy of the book handy.

Now that is what I call a better-sized chapter. Sorry about the delay but I've been swamped but now it has subsided and many updates should be forthcoming over the duration of Easter. Those people who encouraged me thank you and remember; "good things come to those who wait!"

About Ron and Hermione and what part they will play. The answer is I'm not sure. Give me your own ideas as I've had many about them some good some evil but at the moment it's up in the air.

To all my reviewers who answered the issue of how the year should be you all raised some good points. I've decided to… Wait, I'll just let you read on and find out.

Potter Reader: I had the same notion.

Jeanne2: I'm touched that you put my story on your bio, so as you've probably seen I've returned the favour. It's the least I could do. Don't fret Padfoot and Moony will play a large role in the story right till the end.

kateydidnt: I agree completely, while Harry will be the same person and his personality will remain the same mostly, he will definitely not act like he would do in canon. It's an AU story after all.

Darak: Thanks for your review. While I don't totally agree about the prices I have gone back and changed that part of chapter seven and if you read that part again I hope it's up to your expectations.

Faceless One: I do understand and thanks for the continued input.

Yana5: Harry already has two wands, his and his fathers, I don't see the need for more.

Midknight: Thanks again for the review. I heard about your story on Omagic's review page. Is it going to be H/T as that is the best fic? You had better start posting soon. Do you need a beta? I'm available for beta reader if you want one. 

Badbugz: Interesting theory that's all I'm saying.

Once again I thank my reviewers for giving me great feedback

Cheers

Halstead


	15. Battling the Tide

****

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 15: Battling the Tide

1st September 1991

"My name is Harry Potter!"

McGonagall fainted, children screamed, people grabbed their wands

The world stood still, the lost hero had returned.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Harry stood there like a coiled spring waiting to pounce and protect himself but he had to admit that if he was anyone else than him at this given moment in time then he may of found the situation comical. How it stood however was that Harry had hundreds of wands pointed directly at him waiting for a signal but no one had any idea what that signal would be. In fact the only people in the room that didn't have their wands pointed at Harry was McGonagall who had now begun to rouse from her state of unconsciousness and Dumbledore who was trying to convince the staff members to lower their wands.

Then the inevitable happened, some Gryffindor couldn't wait any longer and cried "Stupefy". Harry easily dodged the curse when his worst fear became true. Suddenly what seemed like and probably was a hundred voices bellowed.

"Stupefy"

"Petrificus Totalus"

"Impedimenta" 

Luckily for Harry half of the students that had fired curses at him were so fearful of him that they missed him by quite a wide margin. Either that or they were just a terrible aim. Unfortunately that still left around fifty curses heading towards him.

As the first curses approached Harry decided to try and save his shield so he flung himself to the left and dodged around six. That unluckily put him in the path of about another ten curses. He managed to dodge another four with a neat gymnastics move he had picked up yet six still hit him hard and although his shield held he was sent back five feet to land on the floor. Quick as quick Harry was back on his feet to the shock of the student body.

Harry was running out of ideas as he saw the remainder of the curses heading straight for him when he sensed a powerful invisible barrier erected in front of him. All the curses harmlessly hit the shield and were absorbed making the shield stronger if Harry's senses were right.

More screams came from the student body came when they realised that none of their curses had any effect on Harry and rumours were flying.

"Dark Lord gave him some of his powers" A sixth year Slytherin said almost excitedly  


"Waiting for the signal to attack." A third year Hufflepuff said, which caused all the people who had heard to look round fearfully.

"They're here hiding, waiting to pounce." A Gryffindor mentioned to his friend who was looking around wand pointed at any noise.

Some of the braver older students had stood up and looked ready to fire another curse when:  


"SILENCE"

Albus Dumbledore stood there at the staff table and saw for the first time how powerful he really was. The aura he was giving off was truly magnificent and he radiated power. Every student in the room shut up and listened to him for instructions.

"Hogwarts is not under threat and Mr. Potter is not a danger to any of you so I insist that you stop firing curses in his directions please. Now if Mr. Potter would please accompany me to my office so we could have a little chat. I only have two more words to say: Tuck In!" With that proclamation Albus Dumbledore left the Great Hall robes billowing, beckoning Harry to follow him.

Harry begrudgingly agreed and followed silently behind the Headmaster as they made their way through the castle to the Headmaster's office. The trip was made in silence and Harry could almost feel the tension in the air. After about a couple a minutes of walking the pair came to a stone gargoyle where Dumbledore stopped. Then with a wave of his hand the Gargoyle actually bowed shocking Harry and revealed a moving staircase that undoubtedly led to Dumbledore's office. Harry strongly suspected that if any one else tried to open the gargoyle with that gesture that they would be sorely disappointed.

The pair moved up the automatic staircase Harry stayed silent but Dumbledore was humming a muggle tune that Harry suspected of hearing once or twice but couldn't put his finger on. As Dumbledore opened the door to his office and went to sit behind his desk, Harry followed and was in awe of what he saw.

The room was magnificent, fit for a king. Beautifully decorated in every sense the room was jam packed full of objects that Harry had never seen or heard of. Strange objects lined many shelves and several old tombs adorned a bookcase. A sword was hung on the wall decorated with red rubies and dozens of wizards' pictures hung on the wall each illustrating a previous Headmaster/Headmistress. To cap it all off on a perch by the window sat a phoenix, one of the rarest birds in the world.

"Are you going to take a seat Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore enquired a soft look on his face as he gave the youngster the once over. This brought Harry out of his dreamlike state and back to the matter at hand.

"Sure beats standing, sir." Harry casually addressed the Headmaster trying not to explode in a fit of anger remembering the last meeting between the pair.

"Lemon Drop, cup of tea." Dumbledore asked Harry who was sitting there looking at him with a blank face.

"No thanks, can we get to the point." Harry asked a little irritation showing in his voice but his face remained blank hiding his emotions like Sirius and Remus taught him last year.

"If we must, my question is, what brings you to Hogwarts." Dumbledore asked blankly though deep down he was very interested in this boy and curious of the answers that he might give.

"To finish my schooling." Harry plainly said careful not to lie as Remus and Sirius had warned him that the old man always seemed to know when people were lying.

"Finish my dear child?" Dumbledore inquired barely able to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

"Yes, I have been home schooled in certain subjects and I am at a fairly high level in them." Harry answered truthfully.

"May I ask what subjects you have been taught in." Dumbledore simply said.

"Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Defence against the Dark Arts and Duelling." Harry answered quite proud of his own achievements though he managed to keep it from his voice.

"So why come to Hogwarts if you are proficient in these subjects as in all fairness they are the main parts of the curriculum. I'm sure it was quite hard to get all the required things." Dumbledore asked fishing for more information about this intriguing child.

"It was decided that I needed to get my qualifications and learn all the other things that I either couldn't be taught or had no practice in. I also came to meet people and make friends sir." Harry added the last two parts on purpose as he now knew where this conversation would be heading and had to watch his answers. The next question confirmed his suspicions.

"Who decided?" Dumbledore asked even though he knew the answer and this really angered Harry.

"You know damn who, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Now I know where this is going so ask your questions already, I know you are dying too so save us both some time." Harry angrily stated while still barely keeping his blank expression.

Albus Dumbledore was stunned at the anger in the boy's voice but also at how confident, fit and healthy he was. He certainly didn't look like two dark and evil wizards raised him. However he didn't let any of this show and keep the same irritating placid expression on his face as though Harry seemed to be good, Albus Dumbledore was the master at hiding emotions.

"We're in no hurry Harry, I just need to know a few things, please indulge an old man if just a little." Dumbledore said wearily though the twinkle was till shining in his eyes.

"Ask away but I can't guarantee I'll answer." Harry said calmly

"Harry have Sirius and Remus ever hurt you?" Dumbledore ventured getting straight to the point.

"No" Harry answered shortly staring straight into Dumbledore's twinkling eyes as if to dare him to say that he was lying.

"Have they ever threatened you in any way?" Dumbledore had a quizzical expression as he asked this question.

"No, they love me, I love them." Was all Harry could say on the matter otherwise he might say something that he might regret and start shouting at the old man.

"Alright Harry I believe you but please tell me about the day at the hospital. What happened?" Dumbledore asked a need to know look plastered on his face.

"It started when we went shopping. As we took the Portkey we were transported someplace different. There were loads of people in black robes and white masks; they were threatening Sirius, Remus and me. Sirius and Remus managed to break free of the bonds. Sirius and Remus tried to fight them but there was too many and I couldn't help much and Remus got hit with the killing curse so we had to take him to St. Mungo's as that was the only way to get him treatment. Then when we arrived everyone panicked and Sirius had to do something so he pretended to hold me hostage. He didn't hurt me or nobody else." Harry vehemently defended his Godfather as the Headmaster looked on deep in thought.

"Thank you Harry and I am sorry you were hurt. Now I need…" Dumbledore was about to continue when Harry could take no more.

"SORRY I GOT HURT, THAT'S RICH CONSIDERING THAT YOU WERE THE ONE THAT TOLD THEM TO CURSE SIRIUS. I WAS OUT COLD FOR TWO DAYS YOU…" At that Harry trailed off and after a few deep breaths managed to keep his anger in check settled down again.

"Now we have got that out the way, may I ask what Sirius and Remus have told you regarding you living with them all these years." Dumbledore asked part hesitant, part interested about what the answer would contain.

"They told me the truth but seeing as you either don't know it or are too "wise" to accept it I shall tell you what I know. Sirius was not my parents secret keeper, at the last minute they changed to Pettigrew." Harry spat the traitors' name. "Sirius said that he found my parents and me but some Death Eaters were still there, looking for "their lord" and once he fought them off he grabbed me and apparated back to wherever he was living. He said he was about to contact you and explain when Remus had sent him an owl telling him that he had to leave. Then him and Remus met up at home and I have lived there ever since." Harry told Dumbledore the truth while omitting many facts like the house name and location and his guardians trips into the world that happened on more than one occasion.

After hearing this Dumbledore looked ancient, his shoulders were sagged and the wrinkles on his face were prominent and his twinkle was almost non-existent.

"We will talk about your schooling in the morning. I will have the house-elves make a bed up for you in any tower of your liking before we get you sorted in the morning. Any preference of house?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Gryffindor." Harry answered straight away.

"I thought as much, good night Harry." Dumbledore said in a grand fatherly gesture that made Harry feel safe despite his dislike of the man as he was too tired to care, it had been a long day.

"Goodnight sir." Harry mumbled just rising from his chair.

Suddenly the door to Dumbledore's office crashed open and entered an irate looking Minister Fudge. Harry had his wand out in an instant while he noticed Dumbledores was out quicker than his was.

"You've done it this time Dumbledore, I always knew you were working against me but with them. Where have you hidden him then." Fudge shouted at Dumbledore who kept an ever-calm face.

"Cornelius I've said this before why have you always thought that I am plotting against you and who have I hidden." Dumbledore said with a hint of anger in his voice that the Minister didn't pick up on as he had seen Harry at last.

"You" Fudge said noticing Harry for the first time then when he realised Harry had his wand out and pointing at him Fudge cried "Aurors he's in here"

"Hello Minister." Harry spat the name like a curse and the Minister visibly shuddered.

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AN

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Enter Minister Fudge and oh I don't like him at all just keep that in mind!

Another chapter done. I'm going to Amsterdam for a long weekend so I will be back on Tuesday and if I work quick enough when I get back one should be up Wednesday.

Thanks to all those reviewers who confirmed the Hogwarts Express leaving time, it was greatly appreciated. 

This story is around half way through give or take one or two chapters. I have a vague idea about what is going to happen at the end. Your own theories? I will say who is the farthest away from the real answer and that is all.

Tanydwr: School is a bitch at the moment isn't it. You may get a longer holiday but that is if you don't kill it first. I mean this week, my holiday, I have so far gone to two revisions days already and have to go to one tomorrow. Your lucky about your Coursework I still have to work on one more piece that is in tomorrow. Actually that is what I should be doing now…

Starlight Dreams: I don't like Ron either but he will play a small role in the upcoming chapters. Hermione will be more of a friend to Harry than Ron I can tell you that.

Serebii: Actually if you read it again you will see that I've done the birthday as a look into the past and the day in question is actually the 31st August. Honest mistake and thanks for the review.

Cheers to all my reviewers and I thank you all.

Halstead


	16. Wallowing in Incompetence

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 16: Wallowing in Incompetence

1st September 1991

"You" Fudge said noticing Harry for the first time then when he realised Harry had his wand out and pointing at him Fudge cried "Aurors he's in here"

"Hello Minister." Harry spat the name like a curse and the Minister visibly shuddered.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

As the Minister shuddered and took a step back towards the door he had just entered from two Ministry Aurors entered looking very businesslike. They glanced at Minister Fudge who was trying to manoeuvre himself between them. They looked at Dumbledore who was just watching the seen calmly though the Aurors didn't miss that his eyes were very alert. They finally looked at what must be little Harry Potter standing on his feet wand in hand before one of them spoke.

"Yes Minister." One of the Aurors spoke in what sounded like the way someone would speak to royalty whilst the other rolled his eyes ever so slightly at his colleagues tone of voice.

"Dawlish" Fudge greeted the Auror who spoke. Dawlish was a well-built man who looked very sturdy though slightly slow on his feet if the need ever came for running. His hand was gripping his wand tightly like Harry might try to assassinate the Minister any second." Shacklebolt" Fudge met the eyes of the other Auror but everyone present could tell that Shacklebolt held very little respect for the Minister apart from the man himself. Shacklebolt was an athletic man who looked very trim and muscular. He had dark skin and had a gold earring in his left ear making him look quite mean.

"Cornelius I really must ask that this can wait to another day. Harry has had a long day and will not be going anywhere anytime soon so perhaps we could have this meeting at a later time." Dumbledore spoke to the Minister who looked like he was choking on something.

"You are letting him stay here Dumbledore, for god sake he will just spy on you and report back to Black. The boy is evil. I can sense it. Now all we want is to ask Harry a few questions now and there will be no need for us to take him back to the Ministry." Fudge told Dumbledore who looked defeated.

"While I seriously doubt you can sense anything magical Cornelius, I suppose I will have to allow you to ask your questions but Harry has the right not to answer them." Dumbledore told the Minister with an edge of finality in his voice.

While the Minister was talking to Dumbledore Harry was just standing there wand ready not liking the Minister one bit and he had no intention of giving the Minister or them two Aurors any answers and he was prepared to fight for that right. Then the Minister turned and spoke to Harry.

"Boy, sit down and give that wand here, not that you know how to use it properly anyway." Fudge told Harry in a condescending tone whom bristled at the insult and kept his wand firmly in his grasp though. He sat down making himself comfortable as he had a feeling that it was going to be a long time before he left the office.

"Potter, the Minster said put your wand on the table. So obey him before I have to take it by force." Auror Dawlish said the grip on his wand-tightening ready to disarm an eleven-year-old boy who was disobeying the Minister, his Minister

"May I remind you two gentleman that Mr. Potter is eleven and is not a Death Eater." Dumbledore said placidly yet the message got across to the Minister and the scowling Auror while Auror Shacklebolt slightly tipped his head at Dumbledore in an apologetic fashion.

"Dumbledore, this boy is disobeying my instructions. Put the wand down NOW." Fudge bellowed at Harry who did no such thing as he was watching Auror Dawlish. Sure enough it came, very predictable.

"Expelliarmus" Dawlish shouted and it hit Harry right in his chest on sending his wand into the hands of the Auror who looked delighted. Harry had expected this and with quick thought his Dads wand was in his hands and he fought back.

"Stupefy, Ceruchus, Accio" In quick succession the three curses hit their mark and while Dawlish was stunned and bound being caught totally unaware, Harry's wand returned itself to him and with two brief thoughts, both wands went back to their respective holders.

Fudge looked like he was about to have a heart attack and the wand that he had held in his hand had dropped to the floor due to his hand shaking so much. Auror Shacklebolt had his wand out but the look he gave Dumbledore suggested he didn't want to use it unless absolutely necessary. Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment and then clapped his hands. Suddenly all the wands in the room apart from his because the wands were in his Auror holsters went straight into Dumbledores hands.

"Auror holsters Harry?" Dumbledore rhetorically asked Harry who just realised that when clapping his hands Dumbledore had just done some sort of mass disarming charm. "Cornelius I think that to just ask Harry a few questions, Aurors won't be required. Why don't you have them wait downstairs? I'm sure the house elves can get them some food if they're hungry." Dumbledore suggested though in a way in that there was no arguing with him.

"I think that would be appropriate." Auror Shacklebolt said as Dumbledore banished his wand back to him with just a flick of his finger. He grabbed the still bound Dawlish and made for the door.

"Thank you Kingsley." Dumbledore called after the departing Auror. "Anyone care for tea or a lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked to start the questioning off again.

"Stop delaying Dumbledore and before we start can you please ask Mr. Potter to give you his wands." Fudge asked with fake politeness.

"Harry can I just please have your wands. I assure you that you will get both of them back as soon as Cornelius leaves. I promise you will come to no harm." Dumbledore asked Harry expecting him to give his wands to him without question.

"No thank you Professor, I prefer to keep them on me and Minister I promise that unless provoked these wands will not leave the holsters and if they did Professor Dumbledore is capable of having them in his possession before I even think about using them, isn't that right?" Harry spoke to Dumbledore who just nodded.

"Right now we have sorted that out, where are Sirius Black and Remus Lupin hiding out." Fudge started with the most predictable and the most laughable question to Harry.

"Earth" Harry's reply was in a flat tone.

"Give me some respect boy or we can take this to the Ministry". Fudge shouted not impressed at all with the way things were going. He took Harry's silence as an apology and moved on.

"Did Sirius Black and Remus Lupin ever hurt you?" Fudge asked fake concern plastered on his face asking the question that most of the public wanted to know the answer to.

"No" Harry said in a tone that boded no argument.

"You must know Harry that they have caused a lot of pain, just tell me where they are and everything will be alright." Fudge asked in his impression of a caring voice that couldn't have been further from it.

"Europe" Harry gave his response in a monotone voice trying to hold down the urge to curse the minister.

"NOW LOOK HERE BOY WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THEM MUDERING SCUM FOR YEARS AND IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE THEY'RE THEN YOU'RE COMING TO THE MINISTRY FOR QUESTIONING, BY FORCE IF NECESSARY". Fudge had jumped out of his seat and was screaming at Harry who was just looking at the Minister face devoid of emotion.

"I'd like to see you try." Harry responded in a challenging tone to the Minister as he rose to his feet.

"SIT DOWN" Dumbledore shouted at the pair of them patience finally running thin. His aura had flashed for a couple of seconds and Harry marvelled at the brightness of it and the power it held. "Look this is getting no where, Cornelius ask Mr. Potter one more question and then please leave, Mr. Potter won't be telling you anything he don't want to." Dumbledore scolded the Minister.

"You don't have no jurisdiction over me Dumbledore." Fudge told the Headmaster a scowl on his features.

"As the Head of Hogwarts I do, like I do with all the others." Dumbledore gently reminded Fudge who finally looked defeated.

"The boy has to understand Dumbledore, they are evil, they betrayed his parents and when Voldemort died they took his place. They've killed numerous witches and wizards over the years. THEY NEED TO BE STOPPED SO STOP MESSING AROUND YOU EVIL LITTLE BRAT." Fudge's anger had came back in full force as he shouted at Harry who was slowly losing the battle with his emotions and for the first time since the Minister arrived anger was displayed on his face.

"Listen here Minister, I will tell you this once and then you will leave before I curse you back to your office. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are innocent, they didn't betray my parents, are not Death Eaters, they aren't even Dark Wizards. It was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed them, he was the secret keeper, my parents changed at the last minute. All of them other attacks were from other Death Eaters. They even caught us once. I saw some of them. I can even name them you bumbling oaf. Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange are the only two that were left standing but there was loads, how incompetent are you." Harry spat at the Minister who was too far in his rage to have noticed the edge to Harry's voice.

"Preposterous! What lies have they fed you boy? Pettigrew has been missing for years, it is widely believed that Black and Lupin went back to finish off the last of their school chums. Lucius Malfoy is one of the most respected men of the Wizarding World and regularly makes large donations to several wizarding facilities. You don't know what you are talking about boy." Fudge was about to start shouting again when Dumbledore spoke up.

"I think that it's time to call it a night Cornelius." Dumbledore told the Minister in a tone full of conviction that many brave people had dared not argue with.

"Don't think I won't get the information Dumbledore, your days are numbered Potter and pass the message on to your two buddies that a few Dementors are ready to say hello to them and have a kiss in store!" With that Fudge stormed out of the office slamming the door rousing a few of the paintings that cursed the Minister.

With that Harry got up to leave not interested in anything else that Dumbledore had to say to him.

"Harry, wait, one thing I have to know, was what you told the Minister true?" Dumbledore inquired while Harry felt a funny feeling in the back of his head that felt unfamiliar almost like probing. 

"Yes, every word." Harry told Dumbledore harshly the weariness of the day catching up with him and this was something that Dumbledore immeadiatly picked up on. 

"Gryffindor Tower is on the seventh floor, password is "Godric". It's the portrait of the Fat Lady. Good night Harry." Dumbledore said in a kind way that sent shivers up Harry's spine due to the emotion in the voice. Harry was just not yet prepared to accept Dumbledore.

"Night." This was the only reply Harry gave as he walked out of Dumbledore's office back down the moving staircases and out passed the stone gargoyle that shut with a faint click as soon as he stepped back into the hallways. 

Harry had no trouble finding his way to Gryffindor Tower as he had looked up the route to Gryffindor Tower in Hogwarts: a History while Sirius and Remus told him of passages that could get him up there very fast. Harry decided against attempting to navigate the passageways and slowly made his way up the staircases thinking about how badly his meeting with the Minister went.

__

"I am going to have to try much harder than I thought I would to convince the Minister of the innocence of Sirius and Remus." Harry thought to himself as he wearily stepped on to the seventh floor. _"I might just add another thing to my list: get that bumbling oaf Fudge fired. I have never met a man so incompetent." _Harry's head was pounding by now with all the thoughts in his head as he walked up to the portrait.

"Godric" Harry told the Fat Lady who was looking the new arrival up and down in an even voice.

"Bit late aren't you dear, you should be in bed." The Fat Lady told him as he stepped through the portrait into the Gryffindor common room intent on getting some much-needed sleep.

As Harry stepped into the common room, the ten or so people that were still up all went silent. They all looked at each other waiting for someone to make the first move and find out what he was doing in their common room. Harry though was too tired to care less.

"Anyone know where the first year dormitories are?" Harry asked bluntly not wanting any confrontation, just sleep.

Then one boy stood up, badge gleaming on his chest as he surveyed Harry. He was soon joined by two of the people he was sitting with and Harry was thinking, _"here we go again"._

"What do you mean Potter and how did you get in here?" The boy with the badge asked and Harry could see now that this was the Head Boy. Harry was sure he heard one of the other boys muttering about Dark Magic.

"Well I got in through the portrait and I'm sure my question was quite clear. As Head Boy I would have expected you to grasp that quite quick. I will ask again though, where are the First Year Dorms." Harry ended in a clipped tone that was voicing his frustration of all the events that had happened today.

"You could do with some manners Potter, you evil worshipping brat. You are not staying our tower, go on go, I'm sure Slytherin will welcome you." The boy to the left of the Head Boy piped up his wand drawn while the one on the right did the same.

"I will ask once more, where are the first year…" Harry never got to finish as one of the boys just threw a curse at him. Harry rolled to the side drawing his wand ready to attack if necessary.

"I just want to go to bed, so tell me where to go or you will regret it." Harry stated in a dangerous tone that shocked the older lads.

During this argument most of the spectators had put shield charms up to protect themselves while few retreated to their dorms disgusted at there fellow House members behaviour.

"As Head Boy Potter I order you to lower your wand." The Head Boy commanded in his tone of authority.

"No thanks I'd rather have it where it is, I will harm no one if they don't harm me." Harry stated watching the three boys for reactions. The Head Boy looked impassive but unwilling to fight but the other two looked seething.

"You'll get it Potter, my father was killed by that traitor Black, REDUCTO" The boy bellowed at Harry who dodged to the left as he raised his own wand.

"Petrificus Totalus" Harry shouted but the spell was easily deflected. Harry had to dive very quickly to avoid three spells that were heading his way and he rose again ready to finish this duel.

"Is that all you know Potter, all first years know that curse." The boy on the right taunted while raising his wand again in a striking motion.

"Praestringo, Subsisto" Harry waved his wand so quick that the human eye could not distinguish the movement and sent off the curses so fast that the two boys were hit before they could raise their shields that in all honesty wouldn't have held up. One of the boys was bound tight and the other was hit by an advance version of the stunner.

The audience was in shock. Most had not heard of the curses Harry had just used and the older ones that had were even more impressed as they were basic auror curses. Now it was only one on one Harry and the Head Boy looked at each other for a moment. The Head Boy looked like he was debating whether or not to attack but with one last glance at his friends he sprung into action.

"Redimio, Confuto" The Head Boy sent vines spraying at Harry as well as a strong paralysis that surprised Harry.

"Protego" Harry's shield held firm against the first but he didn't want to risk it against the second spell so diving forward he closed the gap between the pair and while rising shouted.

"Subsisto" Harry waved his hand twice muttering "stupefy" as two wandless stunners made his way towards the Head Boy. Harry had gone past caring what people knew about his talents and he just wanted to get to bed.

"Protego" The Head Boy quickly raised his shield that cracked with the force of the spell but didn't break. He sensed wandless magic as well and out of instinct raised the weak shield he had taught himself. It didn't hold though and to the crowds disbelief the Head Boy slumped to the floor unconscious beaten by a first year.

"Where are the first year dorms." Harry asked harshly, all patience lost. 

"Third door up the stairs." One girl squeaked out.

Harry didn't acknowledge the girl but headed up the stairs feeling much more tired than he was 10 minutes ago and he was shattered then. On the way out he flicked his wand three times while mutter counter curses and the boys stirred. He entered the dorm room glad that there was a spare bed.

Too tired to enlarge his trunk, Harry just took off his robes lying them by his bed and collapsed on the four poster bed not before casting a few privacy charms that he knew.

The last thing he thought before he fell asleep was _"Sure Sirius I am well on my way to making friends, knocking the Head Boy unconscious will do loads for my friendly reputation."_

AN

Next chapter we see what is going on with the rest of the world and Harry will experience his first day of school. It will be long but it should be out on the weekend

I'm back. Sorry if this chapter is a bit sub-standard, Amsterdam rocked me a bit and I still do not feel 100%. I will make any revisions later if the chapter is that bad.

This story is already mapped out right to the end near enough so any ideas for the rest speak now or forever hold those suggestions in.

I am starting to plan my next story. It will probably be 6th year but I want it to be original, any ideas?

charmedlily: Dumbledore doesn't think Harry is evil, I have never said that and if I have I apologise and will go back and change it. Dumbledore just "believes" that Sirius and Remus are evil but that is diminishing with every chapter. Anyway he is heralded as the greatest sorcerer living so why should he be afraid of an eleven-year-old child who might know a few spells. He doesn't know the full extent of Harry's powers…yet. Hope that clears things up and thanks for the review.

Jeanne2: Tanks for the comments they were welcomed. I know Dumbledore seemed slightly OOC but this is AU and the last ten years have been different to that of canon but I am trying to make him his usual self.

Thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers!

Cheers

Halstead


	17. A Day in the Life

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

CERTAIN PARTS OF THIS CHAPTER ARE QUOTES FROM THE PHILOSPHERS STONE. THESE ARE PROPERTY OF J.K ROWLING AND DID NOT COME FROM ME.

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For all those interested, which in all fairness probably won't be many, I have a new story I have published called "Hate Lives but Love Conquerors". It's a Harry-In-Azkaban fic and will be quite short, around 20,000 words. I'm sorry if it seems a shameless plug of the story but some of you may be interested, as Sirius is the main character along with Harry. It's on my Bio if you wish to take a look but don't feel pressured.

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Chapter 17: A Day in the Life

2nd September 1991

Harry woke the next morning feeling like a bucket of cold water had just been threw over him. He wildly looked around seeing nothing of the sort when he remembered, the privacy charms. His proximity charm had been set off meaning someone was trying to open the hangings on his bed but unable to. Cautiously Harry began to open the hangings but stopped to hear voices talking about the new addition to the dorm.

"There wasn't a bed there when I went to bed"

"Who is it?"

"Could it be Potter?"

"Well give him some space whoever it is."

"If is that evil Slytherin, I'll show him a thing or two!"

At this statement Harry had had enough and pulled the curtains back to make his presence known to the room. The reactions of the four voices that he heard couldn't have been more different. A sandy haired boy of average height and average build had jumped back five steps and drew his wand even though Harry had a good suspicion that he didn't know how to use it. A very tall black boy had taken a step backwards and was making no move to do anything though he looked very nervous. A red headed boy that had taken a couple of steps forward from the centre of the room stood there a snarl on his face, wand pointed at Harry's heart. Harry quickly erected a wandless shield with the flick of his finger that hold against anything a normal first year could cast. The last boy was the most intriguing to Harry. There stood not five paces in front of where he was standing a short well-built boy that exuded confidence. He was looking at Harry with an unreadable expression that Harry could tell was similar to the one that he would wear when trying to conceal his emotions.

"Neville Longbottom" The boy closest to Harry introduced himself loudly and said in an undertone "we need to talk later". Harry just nodded and shook his outstretched hand as the introductions continued.

"Dean Thomas" The black boy said in an even voice that trembled ever so slightly. Harry smiled warmly and the boy seemed to relax.

"Seamus Finnigan" The sandy haired boy spoke trembling all over eyes darting around the room like he was looking for somewhere to hide.

"Hi" Harry thought it would be best if he spoke in a calm happy tone to the boy who looked on the edge of a panic attack. It had the desired effect as Seamus stopped looking like he was going to jump from the dorm windows.

The red headed boy Harry vaguely remembered from last night but he couldn't quite recall his name. He obviously wasn't forthcoming with it so Harry made the unnecessary task of introducing himself. He thought it was the least he could do to the first three students that he had talked to that hadn't tried to curse him.

"Harry Potter and I hope to be sharing this dorm with you after my sorting." Harry told the boys in a joyful tone, as he was relishing the opportunity of company. As even though Sirius and Remus were everything he needed, Harry still yearned for friends' that were closer to his age.

"I know who you are you evil git. The dungeons are that way you slimy Slytherin. I'm sure there are some Black worshippers down there!" The red headed boy shouted at Harry wand trembling in his hand.

Harry was seeing red, with a thought his wand was in his hand and he was just about to threaten the red headed git with certain pain when a hand grabbed his.

"He's not worth it Harry." Neville confidently said "Ron in case you can't read, this is Harry Potter, how in the world can you say he should be in Slytherin. I wouldn't threaten him anymore Ron because you will have me to deal with." Neville lectured the boy who Harry now remembered was called Ron Weasley.

"Fine you can have your little pyjama party. I'm going for breakfast. Oh and Potter" Harry lifted his eyes to Ron's for the apology that he thought would come. "Hairicus Removus" Ron bellowed.

Harry was about to raise a shield when he realised that nothing had happened. The laughing of Neville bought him out of his daydream.

"Honestly Ron, you can be so funny." Neville chuckled holding his sides. With one last glare at the boys in the room, a red faced Ron exited with a slam of the door.

After that little wake up call, Harry quickly got dressed and made his way to the Great Hall talking to Neville about insignificant things like classes and Quidditch. Dean and Seamus followed behind immersed in there own little conversation.

The quartet made its way to the Great Hall with no problems as they decided to follow some older students. As they entered the Hall it was like cotton wool had been stuffed in Harry's ears, everything went silent. A pin's drop could be heard. Then if on cue, the whispers started.

"Look there he is, Harry Potter"

"What's he still doing here?"

"Dumbledore must have finally cracked."  


"My sister said that Black gave him some of his power!"

"What's he still doing at Hogwarts, surely he's not staying, he'll just spy on us."

"Has he been sorted yet? His robes have no badge."

"Look he's just walked past the Slytherin table, where's he going."

These were just some of the whispers and rumours that Harry heard about himself. At one point he was ready to turn and walk out but a strong hand on his shoulder from Neville had stopped that notion.

As Harry took a seat next to Neville at the far end of the Gryffindor Table, Dean and Seamus thankfully sat opposite from them. A few people at Gryffindor table had gave Harry curious glances and a minority including Ron and the seventh year boys had glared at him but the majority just looked indifferent.

Harry settled in his chair and proceeded to block out the rumours content on speaking to Neville and eating his breakfast. After the initial flurry of interest in Harry most of the students had settled to breakfast but a few furtive glances were still being placed in his direction as if wondering when Harry was going to start cursing everybody.

When the hundreds of owls swooped into the hall Harry was awed just like the rest of the first years. Looking at the owls reminded him of Hedwig and he wished that his owl would arrive. Not that he wanted to send mail but just for the comfort that the bird brought him.

He watched Professor McGonagall make her way down the table handing out everybody's schedule for the year. As she handed Neville his own schedule she turned to Harry and looked at him with an indescribable expression that at first he thought as pity but quickly shook that notion off.

"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore requests your presence in his office straight after breakfast to discuss your learning schedule. He says to tell you that the password is Sugar Quills" McGonagall informed Harry in an even lecturing tone of voice, the only change in her emotion came when she informed Harry of the password.

"Yes, thank you Professor" Harry replied sincerely.

"Good" McGonagall said and with that carried on the handing out of schedules.

A groan next to Harry caught his attention. "What is it Neville?" Harry asked politely wondering what could be so bad on the schedule to bring that reaction.

"Potions first. It's the one subject I never got the hang of and I hate it. To make it worse I hear that Professor Snape is a real horrible teacher and he always favours the Slytherin's." Neville informed Harry whose attention increased at the mention of Snape.

"Snivellus?" Harry said out loud to no one in particular.

"No Harry, Professor Snape." Neville told Harry thinking that he heard the professors name wrong.

"Is Snape's first name Severus?" Harry inquired quickly.

"I think so, I'm not sure. Why? Who is Snivellus?" Neville replied asking questions of his own.

"At school my Father, Godfather and Moony had one main enemy, Severus Snape. He was a Slytherin, they were in Gryffindor and for years they were at war. Some of the pranks they played on him were outrageous. They called him Snivellus. They described him to me many times, I wonder." Harry trailed off his explaining to gaze at the staff table but found many teachers missing as it was quite late.

Reluctantly Harry rose to his feet and with a quick goodbye to Neville who refrained from asking anymore questions for now, Dean and Seamus who all nodded in return. Harry made his way out of the Great Hall head held high outwardly showing no sign that the rumours were getting to him but on the inside he was furious. How dare they judge him on things that weren't true?

Harry stormed up to the Gargoyle bellowing "Sugar Quills" not caring who heard the password even though there was no one in sight. He marched up the moving staircase anger subsiding slightly as nerves began to grow at what house he was to be placed in. What would happen if he was in Slytherin like everyone said he would be? He would be forever thought evil. Not that he planned to be at the school very long anyway. He wanted to help his Godfather and Remus and make sure they came to no harm.

Before Harry knew it he was at the top of the stairs next to the oak door that allowed entry to the Headmasters office. He was about to knock when…

"Come in Harry" The wise voice of the Headmaster rang out to Harry who was shocked. Could Dumbledore see through doors?

Harry entered the office and the anger that had settled down rose again looking at the man who he held partly to blame for the exile of his Godfather and Remus. Surely someone of obvious maturity and of wise being could see that it wasn't Sirius who betrayed his parents and that him and Remus were truly innocent.

"Take a seat Harry, I won't keep you long. Just wanted to get you sorted then have a little chat." Dumbledore told Harry a slight twinkle in his eye as he surveyed the small boy who exuded a much bigger presence.

Without acknowledgement Harry took a seat only to be passed the Sorting Hat only seconds later. Not wanting to waste time and bring on any more conversation, Harry firmly planted the hat on its head like he saw so many children do the night before. When the brim had covered his eyes and Harry was staring at the black brim a voice piped up.

"Ah, what do we have here, young Mr. Potter, yes, I missed you at the feast yesterday, a bit of trouble I heard. Well now you are here lets have a look at you." The voice of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat rang out in his head. A voice that Harry could tell contained knowledge and wisdom.

Harry then felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured straight on his brain and for a moment all his senses went numb as he could almost feel the Sorting Hats presence in his mind. Harry was sparked from his reverie by the voice of the hat.

"Yes, difficult but easy at the same time. Power, Knowledge, a thirst to learn, courage though with a reckless factor, its all here. All the houses would suit you to an extent but there really is only one choice." The Hat informed Harry in a smug knowing voice that came from someone who was never wrong.

__

"Not Slytherin" Harry thought desperately, _"I'll not be put there!"_

"I agree Mr. Potter though maybe if things were different it could have been. You certainly have certain traits from the house and a certain aura that I can't quite grasp. But no, the choice is made. Good luck Mr. Potter and I hope you took my words to heart. Remember if you need me just call." The voice told Harry.

A split second later "GRYFFINDOR" rang out through Dumbledore's office and Harry took off his hat to see the twinkling smile of the Headmaster. Harry temporarily forgot his dislike of the man due to his happiness at being sorted into the house of his family that included Sirius and Remus. It was like a weight had been lifted from his very soul that he wasn't even aware he had. As the Gryffindor badge magically appeared on his robes Dumbledore spoke up.

"Quite pleased are we Harry?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically seeing the emotions on the normally closed off face of Harry Potter.

"What am I going to do about classes? Can I be advanced in certain subjects?" Harry voiced his concerns to Dumbledore who weighed up his answer before providing it.

"It's not unheard of to skip years but very uncommon. It needs the majority of the faculty plus the subject teachers' approval to advance in years. What subjects do you want to advance in and at what level?" Dumbledore asked though he had a fairly good idea at the answer and that would be that Harry Potter was to be at Hogwarts for one year only.

"If its possible I would like to do Second Year NEWT level Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Transfiguration. I would also like to study OWL level Potions and Herbology." Harry told Dumbledore the course study he had gone over in his head beforehand. Harry added the last OWL in Herbology as though he had not studied it; he had learnt about most stuff the course covered in his other subjects.

"That's quite a list of subjects you hope to advance in. Don't despair if you can't get into them. I think that the best course of action is that you report to the Great Hall at Eight PM tonight so that we can test your skills. I will inform you if that changes. For today I think that its best if you take the first year classes with your fellow housemates. I believe you have Potions right now. I will write you a note to explain the lateness." Dumbledore said to Harry who knew a dismissal when he heard one and with a half-hearted thank you, Harry took the offered note and left Dumbledores office towards the dungeons. This was where Dumbledores note showed him where to go.

As Harry approached the door to his classroom he wondered if Professor Snape was the same Severus "Snivellus" Snape that he had heard so much about from Sirius and Remus. If it was the same person, Harry was praying that he wasn't going to hold a grudge because of who Harry is and his background. One thing Harry had told himself though was that he wasn't going to be pushed around by nobody. Taking a deep breath Harry knocked on the door and when the signal came to enter the room he entered calmly and took a look at his surroundings.

The class was obviously even with his little knowledge a Gryffindor/Slytherin class. The whole class turned to look at the new arrival. Professor Snape looked at Harry with an expression of shock for a moment before he regained a sneer on his face. Unfortunately for Harry this was the same Snape that Sirius knew, he was sure of it. The greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin all matched the description that Harry had received. Unless Snape had an identical twin Harry was inn a class taught by someone who hated his father, Sirius and Remus. Harry was broken out of his musing by the voice of Severus Snape who was looking at Harry with extreme hatred.

"So our new little hero has decided to join us." Snape softly spoke. The noticing the Gryffindor badge he continued "Gryffindor Potter, I expected nothing less now sit down, we were just having a little quiz." Snape informed Harry with a gleam in his eye that suggested Harry wouldn't like it.

Harry sat at the back of the room on an empty table and quickly got his things out, not intimidated by Snape who was at the moment stalking his way round the classroom. Harry was about to ask Neville who was seated in front what the class were doing when Snape spoke up again.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry quickly glanced around and saw that apart from the bushy haired girl no one else had a clue what Snape was on about. Luckily Harry did though he very much doubted it was first year work.

"Would it be Draught of the Living Death sir?" Harry asked rhetorically, relatively confident of the answer.

Snape looked even angrier, a notion that Harry had thought to have been impossible seeing how he had looked at Harry to start with. Snape wasn't finished yet though.

"Lucky guess. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Snape asked in what must have been an attempt at an intimidating tone seeing how half the class shook. Harry didn't buy into it one bit. Looking Snape straight in the eye Harry answered.

"A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat" Harry answered hoping that Snape got the message and actually left Harry alone and taught the class something other than how to try to intimidate someone. Snape was never one to give up easily.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape silkily asked.

Harry could see that the bushy haired Gryffindor girl was nearly falling out of her seat in her want to answer a question and Harry was severely tempted to tell Snape to ask her but he refrained as he would probably be assigned detention and that he didn't want.

"Nothing sir. They're both the same plant." Harry told Snape thanking his lucky stars that Potions was the first subject he was taught in and that Remus in particular was quite interested in the subject.

"One Point to Gryffindor for the answers and Ten Points from for showing off Potter" Snape snapped out of his shock from Harry's answers and resumed his loathing glare.

"What? You can't do that," Harry said in a tone of fury. Snape looked like Christmas had came early.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor for you attitude Potter" Snape told Harry in a tone that told Harry if he were to reply Snape would be so happy as it would bring him great joy to give Harry detention.

Harry bit his lip and refrained from making a comment but it didn't stop him glaring daggers at Snape. Snape met the glare with one of his own

Things didn't go too bad for Harry after that. Snape assigned everyone into pairs apart from Harry who was the "odd number" and set them about making a simple Potion to cure boils. This was one of the first Potions that Harry learnt so he had great ease in doing it despite working on his own.

One thing Harry found out was that Snape was having a secret affair with Draco Malfoy, that or he just loved praising the boy to death. It was look at how Malfoy cut this and see how Malfoy did this. It made Harry sick to watch a teacher so biased, as it was so blatant that Snape was praising all the Slytherins while criticising all the Gryffindors.

Harry finished his Potion in time and it looked exactly how it should. Corking it quickly Harry put some of the Potion into the vial that Snape had distributed and putting his name on it Harry took it to the front of the room. Before he got to the front of the room however Snape met Harry and told him to give him the vial. Harry handed over the vial but Snape suddenly moved his hands away so the vial dropped to the stone floor with a crash. Harry was furious as a whole lessons work was wasted and Snapes next words made him seething.

"Potter you clumsy fool, ten points from Gryffindor and zero marks. Now clean this up." Snape ordered looking like he was taking sadistic pleasure in punishing Harry and in reality he probably was.

With a flick of his wand and a mumbled incantation all the mess was cleaned up. Harry bit his lip and with a great effort not to give Snape a piece of his mind, Harry turned round muttering about "greasy gits". Snape heard a with a look of intense hatred Snape thought he try and put some nails in the coffin of Harry who was just by his seat.

"Tut, tut Potter. Clearly being a hero, no a martyr to the wizarding world should have brought you respect but then again look at who raised you. You would have been better with wild animals. No wait, actually one of them is one and Black isn't much better." Snape said in a smug tone that wouldn't last very long.

Harry was past breaking point and the magic flowed from him in waves. All the glass nearby shattered and Harry himself rose into the air. Harry turned his gaze to Snape who almost flinched at the look of hate Harry gave him.

"If you don't shut up Snivellus then I will make you. That's a promise." Harry told Snape just as the end of class was signalled but nobody was moving, as everybody wanted to catch Snapes reply.

"Fifty Points from Gryffindor and a week in detention Potter. If I ever hear you call me that again I will personally see to it that you are expelled." Snape said in atone that surpassed hate. 

Harry didn't care though, he had already grabbed his bag and headed out of the door, intent of getting as far away from Snape as he possibly could. In fact the last thing Harry heard was Neville saying to Snape "Sir, is Snivellus your brother?" in an innocent tone.

The rest of the day's classes weren't too bad for Harry. By the time he reached Transfiguration for second period he had sufficiently calmed down. Neville sat next to him and said how he got fifty points from Snape and a week of detentions also for his comment but he thought it was well worth it.

Transfiguration was good. Professor McGonagall was strict like Snape but she had no bias whatsoever. She showed the first years an example at the start how you can change a desk into a pig and everyone but Harry was awed. She also said how they would learn that in fifth year. Harry had learnt this last year. He remembered to tell Sirius that McGonagall did show them that as Sirius bet Remus five galleons that she would still be doing the same old trick as Sirius said she had shown that to them all those years ago. Harry performed the work with no problem and earned Gryffindor ten points.

The last lesson of the day was Charms and Harry enjoyed this greatly. Professor Flitwick was a tiny wizard who had to stand on a chair to see over his podium and he squeaked with happiness when reading Harry's name out. He showed them the first few basic spells. Harry performed them all successfully first time and spent half the lesson discussing charms with the Professor who looked overjoyed at finally talking to Harry.

After classes Harry decided that he would go down to dinner with Neville but then just wait down there saving him going up to the dorms and all the way back down again considering he didn't know Hogwarts very well yet.

Dinner was laboriously long for Harry as the rumours about him and Snape were flying and he got more than glance of respect from the Gryffindor table. Ron still hadn't taken too him spreading nasty rumours about him. Harry sighed as if this continued he'd have to confront him and he knew that it wouldn't be a contest. But he really didn't want to do that. He had enough enemies as it was and he really didn't want anymore.

After dinner had finished Harry said goodbye to Neville who had offered to stay with him but Harry had waved off his offer say that it wasn't necessary. The Hall took an eternity to empty in Harry's mind so pulling out a shrunken book on Ancient and Obscure Charms out of his bag, he enlarged it with a wave of his wand and started reading where he had left off.

It took about an hour for the hall too completely empty after dinner. Harry was so emerged in his book that he failed to realise he was the only student in the hall and he was shocked when McGonagall called his name when only ten feet away when getting no recognition.

"Sorry Professor, I lost track of time." Harry explained as he rose and followed McGonagall as she had indicated they go to the staff table where a small group of teachers waited for his arrival.

Professor Dumbledore greeted Harry warmly but looked slightly disheartened when Harry failed to return the greeting and only nodded his head in greeting. Harry was then introduced to the Professors who were gathered except Snape who merely cast his most deadly glare in the direction of Harry who returned one of his own without trepidation.

Harry had already met Professors Snape, Flitwick and McGonagall but hadn't met the Herbology and Defence Professors yet. Harry liked the Herbology witch, a dumpy women by the name of Professor Sprout. She seemed to exude caring and love and later he found out she was head of Hufflepuff and that didn't surprise Harry much. The person Harry was most eager to meet however turned out to be the biggest disappointment. The Defence Professor turned out to the horror of Harry to be non other than, Gilderoy Lockhart. Harry had heard of him before through the Wizarding Wireless. The Wireless seemed to love him and was forever telling stories that were utterly ridiculous for one man to do. If all the things he said he has done were correct than he should be one of the most powerful wizards alive but all they kept going on about was how he was the four-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. Harry thought that he was a big hoax, a view that was supported by Sirius, Remus and if the look Snape give Lockhart when he was greeting Harry, he too was a "big" fan of Lockhart's.

The tests started quickly with Charms being the first course Harry was tested in. Professor Flitwick told Harry that he would pick five Charms that would be in each year's textbook. Starting from first year to sixth he asked Harry the theory behind the spell and also for a practical demonstration of it. Harry did the entire first five years right but messed up one of the charms on the sixth year curriculum as a Cooking Charm was something that Harry had only briefly glanced at. Professor Flitwick was however delighted and told Harry that he was accepted into his 7th year Advanced Charms class. He also told Harry that he could be his best charms student since his Mother, which pleased Harry greatly as Sirius and Remus had told him that none of the Marauders could match Lily for her charms ability. 

Professor McGonagall quizzed him on Transfiguration next while Professor Flitwick took a seat and started conversing with Professor Sprout. McGonagall did something very similar to Professor Flitwick but only asked for three theories and practical demonstration per year as less material was covered per year. Harry breezed through all the material, as after Defence, Transfiguration had been his favourite ever since Sirius had told him it was the field that his Father excelled in. Professor McGonagall looked shocked when Harry did the entire practical with ease but quickly regained her composure. Before sitting down she told Harry that he was welcome in her 7th Year Advanced Transfiguration.

Professor Sprout went next but the Herbology questions were not as easy as Harry expected. He barely answered all the first year questions correct and only got around half of the second year questions correct. When Professor Sprout was about to start the third year questions he politely told her that there was no point in advancing as he didn't know as much as he though he did. He apologised for wasting her time but got a warm smile from the Professor as she shrugged off his apology and told him "good luck" as she sat down to converse with Professor Flitwick.

Professor Lockhart got up next but was beaten too it by Professor Snape who was muttering about being here all night. He was brisk and to the point. His hatred for Harry was obvious but with all the Head of Houses present plus the Headmaster he couldn't do much apart from ask Harry the questions. Snape asked Harry no questions from the first four years, rather he asked him every question possible about fifth year and some that Harry was sure were more advanced as the questions continued. Harry knew his stuff and answered the great majority correct. Snape kept up the barrage of questions hoping to catch Harry out but after what seemed like the fiftieth question Dumbledore intervened and Snape grudgingly told Harry that he was accepted but if his grade slipped below Exceeds Expectations that he was back with the first years.

Professor Lockhart was a joke. He bumbled his way through his theory questions, asking Harry questions word for word from the textbook then having to check up in the back to see if his answers were correct. All the time he was doing this, Lockhart was giving a running commentary of how he used what spell to defeat what creature and how popular he was and how many titles he had gotten through his exploits. It made Harry sick to the soul to have to listen to this man. Snape had got up and half way to the door when Lockhart spoke next and what he said made Snape return to his seat with an expression of interest in his eyes.

"Instead of testing Harry practically, how about I show him how a real man duels. If you're lucky Harry then a may even show you some of the more rare curses that I learnt when travelling the world." Lockhart said in a confident manner looking to Professor Dumbledore for acceptance, who merely told Lockhart that it was up to him how he tested Harry.

"So Harry are you up for duelling with a master. You can back out if you want several others have in the past. Its okay, I would understand." Lockhart told Harry in what was meant to have been in a caring tone but came out very condescending.

"Sure Professor, but please don't hurt me too much." Harry said in a voice laced with sarcasm though Lockhart missed it and just beamed with his pearly white grin.

With a wave of his wand Dumbledore conjured a duelling platform and Harry marvelled at how easy the Headmaster made it look, something of that size and magnitude must have taken much concentration and power to conjure. As instructed Harry stood at one end and faced Lockhart who had positioned himself facing Harry. With a though Harry had his wand out and prepared to duel his Professor.

Dumbledore counted down and when he said go Harry was the first person to take the offensive. Quickly whipping his wand he bellowed

"Stupefy"

"Protego" Harry heard Lockhart's voice but was already rolling to avoid what he thought was the deflected curse, rising up he had the next curse on his lips when he stopped.

Lockhart was lying on the floor unconscious. His shield had obviously shattered and he had taken the full brunt of the spell. Harry walked over to his fallen opponent and with a muttered "Enervate" Gilderoy Lockhart woke up.

He was disorientated for a minute but quickly regained his insufferable composure. "Good spell their Harry though if I'd have really wanted to block it I could. I thought that I would show you how not to cast a shield spell. Now how about that duel again and this time I'm afraid to say you won't win quite as easy." Lockhart said, his confidence back in full swing. Harry was saved an answer by another voice cutting in.

"Sit down Lockhart. Now Potter how about I show you how to duel properly." Snape said to Harry in a tone full of malice as he marched his way to one end of the platform. Harry spared a glance to Professor Dumbledore who just nodded his head. Harry got in position and as before Dumbledore counted down.

"3,2,1…GO" Dumbledore announced.

It was Snape however who struck first this time showing speed that Harry had not thought the man possessed.

"Reverbero" Snape bellowed sending a powerful striking curse at Harry who dropped to the floor to avoid it. Diving to the left to avoid another striking curse Harry rose and retaliated with a curse of his own.

"Blasot"

"Protego"

Harry's curse was blocked by Snape's shield that flickered before sending the curse harmlessly ricocheting to the ceiling.

Snape went straight on the attack-sending curse after curse at Harry who was blocking or dodging everything thrown at him but he was becoming slower as the duel went on and after nearly being struck with a stunner Harry decided on a new tactic. Pulling two sickles from his robes he chucked them towards Snape who looked shocked at this weird display. He was about to cast his next curse but Harry beat him too it.

"Transfigo Chienus" Harry shouted concentrating hard while waving his wand in a complicated motion.

Harry got the desired result though. Two dogs appeared and immeadiatly-starting going for Snape who to his amazement didn't even bat an eyelid before simply flicking his wand and the dogs vanished.

"Extundo" Harry shouted trying to take advantage of Snapes distraction but Snape side stepped the curse and resumed his attack on Harry.

The teachers watched with amazement as Snape duelled against Harry. They watched astounded as managed to block or dodge Snapes attacks that got more complicated with every curse that failed to disable Harry.

Harry tried his best using his wand but he didn't want to reveal the full extent of his powers and his sword yet he knew that he couldn't let Snape win. Luckily Harry didn't have to find an answer to the dilemma Snape forced his hand.

"Blasot" Snape tried another blasting curse that so nearly broke Harry's shield last time but Harry reacted differently this time.

"Conjurus Scutum"

A bronze oblong shield appeared in Harry's other hand and the spell struck it firmly but the shield held firm and only one dent appeared in it.

"Congelo"

Harry watched as Snape was surprised by Harry's use of the strong freezing spell and Snape dropped to the floor obviously worried that his shield wouldn't hold the spell. Harry was quick to press the advantage but Snape again regained his wits quickly and attacked Harry with new vigour.

"Rediucus Maximi" Snape shouted

Harry was baffled by this curse, as he had never heard about it. He couldn't move in time so he shouted "Protego" and held his shield up, hoping beyond hope that one of the two shields would stop the curse from striking.

Harry was out of luck as the curse went straight through his magical shield and struck his physical one shattering it to thousands of tiny pieces and sending Harry flying ten foot back onto the edge of the duel mat.

Harry got up quick but not quick enough. He dived after his dropped wand but Snape who had closed the gap between them considerably smelling victory got there first shouting "Accio Wand".

The look on Snapes face was that of pure glee but that soon changed to horror as Harry waved his hand and the wand stopped in mid-air and then made its way back to Harry's hand.

Seeing his major chance to beat Snape, Harry called his other wand to his hands and catching his wand bellowed.

"Exarmo"

The distance between the two was too close. A huge jet of purple light had left Harry's wands and was streaking its way towards its target. Snape had managed to raise a weak shield but the curse was too strong and Snape took a large brunt of the curse, sending his wand into Harry's empty left hand as he had banished his father's wand back once he had used it.

Snape was knocked out and Harry would have preferred it too stay that way. As he walked off the stage he saw the shock on the teachers' faces but he was too tired to care. It had been a long day plus he had used a great deal of normal magic, plus Wandless magic that always made him tired and he felt like he could have slept for a week.

Dumbledore awoke Snape with a wave of his hands. The Potions Master immeadiatly stood up and started going on about the injustice of the fight, how Harry shouldn't have been allowed to use Wandless Magic. One point Snape had brought up was the fact that Harry was carrying two wands, which was illegal. Harry didn't actually know this but found himself too tired to care. So while Snape was ranting on about how they should all just bow down to Harry Potter, Harry slipped out the Great Hall.

Making his way up the staircases to bed, Harry saw from his watch that it wad past Midknight and he was thankful when he arrived at Gryffindor Tower without incident and was pleased further when he found the common room was empty.

Entering the dorm, Harry plopped down onto his bed, barely getting out of his school robes. He fell asleep too tired to bother with any privacy charms. All Harry wanted to do was sleep for a week.

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AN

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Quick question for you all you. What is your favourite ship and why? I'm interested as some ships that I won't name really don't do it for me and I'm curious to why others like it. That is all.

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I had to change this chapter from what was planned. Instead of one long 11,000 chapter I have to split it down in to two so I could post it quicker, sorry about that RL just keeps getting in the way not to mention the new idea for the story bugging me.

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There is Good news and Bad news. Good news is that we are roughly half way through this story. Bad news is my GCSE's are approaching so for the next three weeks that are my last at school I will be working hard. Don't fret I will try to post once or twice at least. 

I also understand that some of you may be thinking that if my time is so limited why start another story. The answer is simple, I couldn't concentrate with it in my head, and I had to write it.

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All those people who though Harry was going to get no friends don't fret as this chapter should show you. I can guarantee that Harry will have friends.

Gwendolyn_Smith: You sound like my English teacher! Seriously though I know my grammar isn't perfect and that badly written stories are hard to read but I try my best and think that it's not worth getting a beta. If anyone thinks different then let me know and I will get one. Thanks for the compliments!

Tanydwr: How are you doing with your revision. Do you find it as mind numbingly boring as I do? If I was responsible I should order you to stop reading and writing fanfiction and go do some studying but where is the fun in that?

SantaClaws(): This should please you then. The huge project isn't so, the ending will be brutal, heartbreaking… That's all there is to say on the matter.

Next Chapter the Action factor kicks back in and we see how Sirius and Remus are doing in their hunt.

Thanks to my reviewers, I am truly overwhelmed by all your support of the story. I thought I might only get a handful of reviews. Thank You

Cheers

Halstead


	18. Futility

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

THIS CHAPTER IS UNBETAD, I WILL REPLACE IT WITH THE BETAD VERSION IN A COUPLE OF DAYS TO THOSE OF YOU THAT CAN WAIT LONGER

Chapter 18: Futility

October 3rd 1991

Sirius and Remus were at the current moment in time residing in the Dark Forest, deep inside Albania. The reason, something was going to happen here tonight and Sirius and Remus didn't like the sound of it one bit.

It had been a month since Sirius and Remus had left Hide and Seek cottage in pursuit of Peter Pettigrew. Using contacts deep inside the Department of Mysteries they found out that Pettigrew had vanished into thin air just after they went into hiding though there had been some sightings of him in Eastern Europe and Asia in the past couple of years.

After hearing this Sirius and Remus decided to go underground and using disguises they managed to obtain some information that something very dark was happening in Albania at the current moment in time.

So Sirius and Remus had decided to check it out and right now they wished they never had. When they had reached Albania, they had discovered that the dark activity of late had to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as the locals called him. Apparently there have been several Death Eater sightings in the area and the consensus in the area was that it wouldn't be long before You-Know-Who was brought back to life. This scared Sirius and Remus to an extent as they had always knew there was a possibility of the Dark Lord reappearing but had continued to dismiss it. The unfortunate thing was that they knew that if they found Pettigrew, there was a good chance that they would find Pettigrew.

Apart from that, Sirius and Remus had managed to capture and interrogate one suspicious looking figure who was making an abominable attempt of silently tracking them. After they had seen the man looking at them for a third night in a row, they decided to act. Going into the back alley by the pub, Sirius made out rather loudly that he had some really important information for Remus. The man had fell for it hook line and sinker. He had followed them outside and moved a bit closer so he could hear well. In a flash, the man was stunned and bound. Grabbing the man they had taken him back to the room in a shabby muggle motel they were staying in. Apparating the man into the room with them, bypassing the anti-apparation ward they had set up among many, they had begun the interrogation.

FLASHBACK

"Enervate," Sirius muttered watching as the man jerked awoke, eyes wild. He flinched visibly when seeing Remus and Sirius stood over him holding his wand in his hand. The man then looked like he was concentrating very hard but Remus interrupted.

"I wouldn't bother trying Wandless Magic," Remus told him and watched as the last piece of hope was extinguished within the man.

"What do you want?" The man spat at Remus who just raised his eyebrow. Sirius looked like he wanted to curse the man first and ask questions later.

"Why are you following us?" Remus calmly asked.

"Go to hell!" The man shouted almost rabid.

"I'll ask once more, why were you following us. Tell us and then I'll let you go." Remus told the man calmly again although you could see the signs of frustration.

"I'd rather die so go to hell!" The man screamed at Remus who looked like he was to try once more when Sirius took the more direct approach.

"Imperio," Sirius spoke with an even voice.

The curse hit the man and for a few seconds his eyes flickered then his face went blank, a sign that the curse had worked. Ignoring Remus's disappointed face he began speaking to the man.

"What is your name?" He asked to test whether the man would respond.

"Arman Refute," The man answered speaking in a voice devoid of emotion.

"Why are you following Remus and I?" Sirius asked, this time getting straight to the point.

"I was paid to follow Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. My job was to report everything I saw. Where they went, who they spoke too. Everything." The man answered.

"What was the name of the man that paid you/" Sirius asked curiously.

"I don't know." The man replied and Sirius cursed, swinging his leg into the wall and immeadiatly regretting he didn't when a lightning bolt of pain shot through his leg. While Sirius was busy muttering healing spells, Remus asked questions of his own.

"What did this man look like?" Remus inquired, a speculative look passing across his face.

"He was a short, balding man who was quite overweight. I didn't see much of his physical features; he wore a long black hooded cloak. He also spoke in a high pitched voice" The man spoke in a monotone voice still under the effects of the Imperious.

But it didn't matter, the information made Sirius whip his head up and with a look of intense hatred on his face he snarled "Pettigrew".

The questioning went on like this for a few more minutes until the man started breaking through the Imperious curse. Sirius and Remus got what they wanted to know however, the names of other people who could provide more information. Stunning the man, they obliviated him and dumped him in an Alley.

END FLASHBACK

That interrogation had led to another then another and finally had led the pair to where they were currently situated, walking in the Dark Forest of Albania, waiting to see what was going to happen. Remus was leading the way, following noise that was too quiet for human ears to pick up, but one of the advantages of being a werewolf was having exceptional hearing. Sirius was following; wand out at the ready, hoping that they were wrong and nothing was going to happen in this forest tonight. Sirius was so deep in his musing that he didn't notice when Remus stopped consequently ploughing into the back of his friend.

"Padfoot you moron, be quiet." Remus lectured in a rushed whisper as he motioned with his hands to show Sirius the reason why he had so abruptly stopped.

About a hundred yards in front of the pair, there was a large sized clearing where something was obviously happening. There were around ten or so figures, all cloaked in what Death Eaters wore. They were situated round an object where a figure stood as well as a cloud of mist and a figure that looked like it was tied up. Not being able to see clearly, Remus and Sirius crawled through the heavy shrubbery that provided them with camouflage.

When they got to around thirty yards away they could both taste the dark magic in the air. More to their shock and horror was the person at the centre of the circle was none other than Wormtail. Sirius started to rise with his wand twitching but Remus pulled him back down before he could reveal himself. Giving Sirius a glare that said, "Do you want to die tonight?" The pair turned their attention back to the gathering and realised that a man was indeed tied up and from what Sirius could make out, it looked like someone that used to work for the Department of Mysteries though he couldn't quite place the name to the face.

By the look of it they were waiting for something. A pop then sounded signalling apparation, told Remus and Sirius that they were waiting for more Death Eaters. Before the Death Eater could pull his hood up completely, he turned and Remus and Sirius were briefly looking at the face of Severus Snape. Remus could feel Sirius physically shaking behind him, no doubt wanting to just rush in there and get Pettigrew and Snape.

"Calm down Padfoot, remember Harry. Don't do anything stupid." Remus angrily told Sirius in a whisper, desperation lacing his voice.

Hearing this Sirius clamed down, the thought of him not being there for Harry stopping him from just running in and trying to curse Wormtail and Snape.

Turning their attention back to the gathering at hand both were as silent as possible trying to listen in with Remus having much less of a problem than Sirius and as a result having to transcript what he heard to his friend.

Now that all the Death Eaters were present and accounted for, Wormtail quickly had what looked like a muttered conversation with the cloud of mist and then began to speak to the Death Eaters present.

"Finally, after years of work, sweat and toil we can finally conqueror the world and take revenge on that meddling fool Albus Dumbledore and that lucky brat Harry Potter. Tonight Lord Voldemort shall be reborn stronger than ever!" Wormtail shouted in a loud voice that drew a cheered response from the Death Eaters present.

The excitement that was in the air at this prospect made Remus and Sirius feel sick but the knowledge that there was a chance of Voldemort returning made their insides turn to ice and their breath hitch violently. Sirius and Remus had both been unlucky enough to see the Dark Lord at the height of his power and both silently made a vow to stop that from happening at all costs. The Death Eaters were beginning to quiet down so Wormtail continued:

Instead of speaking however, Wormtail moved over to where the cauldron was and withdrew a sharp looking dagger from his robes. Remus couldn't see very well from where he was but he smelt the fear Peter had easily, it was radiating off of him. When Wormtail spoke, it was so soft that even Remus had to strain his ears to make out what the traitor was saying. Raising his wand he closed his eyes and spoke:

"Bone of the Father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" After this line, Wormtail withdrew a vial from his robes, took the top off and threw the contents into the cauldron. He whimpered a bit more then continued in a petrified voice.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." With that proclamation Wormtail shocked everyone present including Sirius and Remus by grabbing the dagger in his right hand and in one motion slicing his left hand off leaving but a stump. He whimpered with pain and was drifting in and out of consciousness for a few seconds but struggling to his feet when one of the Death Eaters got bored and with a lazy flick of a wand and a muttered "Enervate". Wormtail was back on his feet quicker.

Walking over to where his stump of a hand lay, Wormtail, still in extreme pain, threw the hand into the cauldron. The potion turned a blood red and an ethereal light shone brightly making those present cover their eyes briefly.

Wormtail was now gasping and moaning in the sheer excruciating agony he was in. Still he walked over to where the person was tied up. Raising the dagger again he spoke what was to be the concluding line of the ritual:

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."

Remus and Sirius then watched in shock at the events that followed; events that would change the course of the world forever. Wormtail slashed the man's arm with the dagger. Collecting some of the blood in a vial, he threw it into the potion. The liquid inside turned a blinding white. Wormtail slumped to the ground, his work done, body unable to stand any more.

The potion was sending off sparks and Sirius and Remus were praying that whatever ritual was just performed, was performed wrong. The pair felt helpless, there were too many Death Eaters even for them two and they had to think of Harry. The futility of the situation was making Sirius fume. Even to the insensitive Remus, he could feel the power roll off Sirius in waves. Then it happened.

With a loud bang and a cloud of smoke it looked like the potion had gone wrong but then it happened. Out of the smoke stood the most gruesome image Sirius and Remus had ever seen. Lord Voldemort stood there, naked, as the sky was blue, looking like death re-incarnate. His blood red eyes shone with an ethereal glow and he looked inhuman with his twisted facial features and almost disfigured body but Sirius could sense the raw magic in the air and marvelled that someone who had just be re-born held that much raw power.

Wormtail quickly drew a wand from his robes with his shaking right hand and gave it to his Master who with a wave of the wand robed himself and with a flick conjured a throne to sit on. Sitting down, he surveyed his followers, not looking as happy as someone who had just been brought to life should be.

"My faithful Death Eaters, my loyal followers, where prey tell were you all when I needed your assistance the most. I was a shell of a being, less than a spirit, surviving off Unicorn blood, possessing beings for only a few days at a time before they were corrupted and were no longer of use. Now tell me, where were you all. Only Wormtail here;" A long pale finger pointed at where the whimpering man was kneeling on the floor, cradling a stump that used to have a hand on the end of it. "Sought me out and he shall be rewarded. Rise Wormtail!" Voldemort hissed in an inhuman voice.

Wormtail slowly got to his feet and closed the short gap between himself and Voldemort before dropping to his knees in front of his Master, whimpering him the whole time. Kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes he looked up at Voldemort who lazily waved his wand in the air and molten gold formed to the amazement of all those present. The gold formed a shape of a hand and once completed it attached itself to Wormtails stump.

"Thank…you…Master!" Wormtail stuttered but Voldemort made no acknowledgement, instead silencing him with a gesture. Voldemort surveyed the group in front of him as if seeing them for the first time.

"So few of you still remain, only few do I recognise from a decade past. Lucius what happened to the rest of my faithful, Wormtail told you to contact everyone." Voldemort asked the man at the far right of the group with a deadly spark in his inhuman eyes.

Lucius dropped to the floor and crawled to Voldemort, kissing the hem of his robes before backing up and answering.

"My Lord, while you were absent, the rest of your faithful decided to try and find Harry Potter. Unfortunately that blood traitor Black hid him well. Instead we took to following members of Dumbledore's pitiful Order. It seemed though that he too knew nothing. Twice we got close but the boy was too well protected. Forgive me my Lord" Lucius finished praying that the Dark Lord was more merciful this time around but it was to no avail.

"Crucio" Voldemort lazily said flicking his wand in the direction of Lucius who for two minutes screamed like his life depended on it before Voldemort finally lifted the curse and addressed the shaking man on the ground.

"Lucius, instead of chasing that Potter brat, you should have sought me out. Yet you left me and for that you will not be forgiven and does Lord Voldemort forget. Fear not though, that brat and those protectors of his will meet the grizzliest of ends. Now Lucius rise." Voldemort commanded and once Lucius was stood Voldemort rolled his sleeve up with a wave of his hand and seeing his familiar mark, Voldemort took one long pale finger of his and pressed it into Lucius's skin. His voice howled as the mark grew jet-black and every member of the circle winced in pain.

"Now all my followers shall know I'm back, we shall re-build and I shall rise greater than ever!" Voldemort exclaimed.

After that announcement Sirius and Remus stopped paying great attention to the meeting and thought of ways to get out without being detected by the Death Eaters. They could apparate but if any Death Eater heard, all they had to do was track the signal and they would know that the two of them were spying plus they would know the location they apparated too.

They finally decided on an undetectable Portkey. So picking up a twig Sirius got to work mumbling furiously under his breath trying to get the pair of them out in the quickest time possible. Turning his full attention back to the meeting Remus heard several pops signalling apparation and found out that all the Death Eaters apart from Wormtail had left.

Then too his horror he saw Voldemort look over to their direction and for the briefest of seconds he felt his eyes lock with the blood red of Voldemort's. Remus then saw Sirius tense, he must of saw. Then Remus on the edge of his magic felt it, anti-apparation were up. Sirius started speaking more quickly. Remus grabbed the stick and Sirius raised his wand.

"Portu…" Sirius never finished the incantation as the Portkey flew from his hand and towards Voldemort in a gust of magic. Sirius was beyond reasoning as Remus felt his friends' wild magic lash out and attempt to pull the Portkey back. Remus from his concealed position saw Voldemort lurch forward in surprise then fury etched his twisted features as he sent a backlash of magic at the Portkey and Sirius who nearly buckled under the sudden influx.

Sirius was pulled forward by this and became mostly visible yet this did not stop the convict. Sirius lashed out again and Remus tried to help his friend by adding his wild magic though it was a fraction of Sirius's. It looked to have helped though as Voldemort jumped to his feet when the Portkey started to move back to the pair.

Voldemort however was not finished. Raising both his hands he made a sweeping motion and Remus felt himself being dragged out of his hiding place and out into the clearing. From his position saw Sirius struggle against the magic but three more times Voldemort made the gesture and Sirius finally admitted defeat and joined his friend out in the clearing.

Both of them rose to their feet and quickly adopted defensive stances. Wormtail just sat there, shock in his eyes as he came face to face with the two people he feared the most: other than his Master obviously, it was a different league.

"Black you blood-traitor and Lupin the big bad werewolf, I've been hearing things about you two, pity you will never leave alive, unless you join me." Voldemort hissed at the pair who just looked at each other solemnly.

"Go to hell Voldemort!" Sirius roared, wand appearing in his hand.

Voldemort raised his wand and all hell broke loose.

AN

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I am so VERY, VERY SORRY about the delay in updating this story. Exams, Revision, Leaving School and a new Girlfriend meant that I didn't go on the computer for ten days straight let alone write. I promise though that this story will be finished ASAP and will be plus 100,000 words. Unfortunately there might be a wait for the next chapter as I have around fifteen exams in the next month but I will try my best to get it out quicker than I did this one.

Okay readers' big chance. I'm busy putting together how his will finish and at the moment its earth shattering. So any ideas speak now or forever regret it.

Short note on how Wormtail had Voldemort's wand. The answer is I don't know just like I don't know how Wormtail had and used it in the book before Voldemort was resurrected.

A few reviewers brought up the issue of Lockhart. My answer is this. I introduced him a year early because in this story Quirrel was not needed because the Philosophers Stone is not at the school plus I like writing Lockhart. I hope that clears up any confusion.

Thanks to you all who answered what their favourite ship was. It seems that for my readers H/H was the favourite. In my opinion Nadia Greenleaf is right, H/H should never be but that's my opinion and as this story hasn't a ship it doesn't matter.

My favourite personally is H/T; I just like the combination but only well written ones. There's only a couple I have liked so far and that's a pity!

Midknight: OK you smug little git I went back and changed it. It only got past my spell checker as I added your name to my custom dictionary so it's actually your fault!

Dumbledore: I seriously hope you weren't mocking my cheers or I might have to stop writing forever. Only joking. I actually don't know why I put it in, it just sounds right and is an alternative to thank you which I think is over used.

Jeanne2: Interesting point about the friendship and I have an event in mind but Harry at Hogwarts is not the main point of my story. In reality, the only reason for Harry to go to Hogwarts was to introduce more characters and free up Sirius and Remus to go hunting!

Mr. Happy Java Man: There is only one female character that I really like and that's Tonks. Sorry if you felt dejected, I try to respond to as many reviewers as possible but I have seen a notice explaining that An's can't be overly long so I try and answer the most relevant ones to the story.

ocpawnmaster1: Hermione interaction coming next chapter maybe.

Tanydwr: What revision exactly! Yeah Bitesize is good. I use it sometimes. BTW I'm an atheist too!

Thanks to all my reviewers, whom I'm proud to say are getting more numerous by the chapter.

Cheers (to all of you except Dumbledore who gets a Thank You)

Halstead


	19. Return to Persecution

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 19: Return to Persecution

October 3rd 1991

"Go to hell Voldemort!" Sirius roared, wand appearing in his hand.

Voldemort raised his wand and all hell broke loose.

"Desia Furtendo"

The curse that Voldemort unleashed was one that neither Sirius nor Remus had heard before so both men didn't want to risk a shield and as such they dived to the ground to avoid the oncoming beam. Rolling up into his duelling crouch Sirius quickly surveyed the situation and found that Pettigrew was starting to rise.

"Moony, get the rat!" Sirius snarled attention taken from Voldemort for a moment.

That was one of the stupidest things that Sirius Black had ever done and it nearly cost him his life. While he was watching Pettigrew, Voldemort unleashed a beam of pure Dark Magic at Sirius who only saw it at the very last moment.

"Seculum Maximus" Sirius bellowed, creating the most powerful shield that he could muster and prayed that it would hold.

Unfortunately the Gods must have been on a tea break, as they didn't answer. Sirius's most powerful shield only absorbed half of the beam. The other half struck him full on, sending Sirius flying thirty foot in the air.

As soon as Sirius landed he knew something was broken, a few ribs perhaps or maybe a collapsed lung. It didn't really matter as all that matter was that Sirius was facing one of the most powerful Dark Lords of all time feeling like he had been hit by a train.

Voldemort was never one for mercy and as soon as Sirius had hit the ground he sent another wave of magic at the animagus who barely rolled out of the way in time. Sirius was resolved though; he would do everything in his power to stop Voldemort and enable Remus to get back to Harry. For once in his life the situation was out of his control and he would just have to put his faith into the heavens above.

In the seconds that Sirius had made his resolve in, Voldemort was on the attack again sending another beam of Dark Magic at Sirius who rolled up to a standing position countering with a strong burst of his own Core Magic.

Voldemort looked a little shocked at the beam of light flying towards him but easily deflected it away with a powerful shield. Both men stood their ground for a split second, each looking at each other with different expressions: Voldemort was looking at Sirius with a look of superiority whilst Sirius's face was set in grim determination, pain etching his features. Sirius did have the benefit though of being able to cast a hurried wandless healing time that eased his ailments slightly. Then the duelling re-assumed:

"Asofdie" Voldemort chanted while sweeping his hand in an arc sending a bolt of Dark Magic at Sirius whom side stepped it easily while blocking the curse.

"Groedos" Sirius shouted whipping his wand sending mini tornadoes at Voldemort who was unimpressed and with a wave of his hand the winds were stopped in there tracks shocking Sirius as it was a very powerful curse.

Sirius didn't even get an incantation as warning the next time. Voldemort had obviously got bored with Sirius and had finished playing with silly words. A sweeping arc of Black Fire came sweeping it way towards Sirius whom barely hit the deck in time, his body protesting stringently against the sudden impact.

Still lying on the floor Sirius fired off bolts of lightning at Voldemort who for the first time since the duelling started had to move from his position to dodge the spell while a solid black shield took care of any stray bolts.

Using the time it took Voldemort to block the bolts, Sirius rose to his feet once more and faced the now angry Dark Lord who did not look happy with Sirius still being alive.

"I'm impressed Black, you could be a worthy asset, I'll give you one last chance, join me now and you, your werewolf and the Potter brat will be spared." Voldemort told Sirius who thought fast on his feet, he needed an edge, something to catch Voldemort unaware. Then it struck him; he just had to do it stealthily.

"Promise you'll not hurt Harry or Remus!" Sirius shouted trying to sound pleading while sheathing his wand in what could have been an act of faith but Sirius and Voldemort both knew that he didn't really need his wand to do magic, he could do both Wandless and Core Magic.

"They will be spared." Came Voldemort's reply though it sounded like he was half-dubious about the sincerity of Sirius's words and the Dark Lord silently put up a very strong invisible shield against any surprise attacks Sirius might try.

Sirius barely felt the twinge of magic in the air but he knew that Voldemort had erected some kind of shield or ward against magic. This didn't matter to Sirius as he got on his knees, the cold evil red eyes of Voldemort watching his movements intently for any signs of treachery.

As Sirius raised his hands behind his head he knew that he had to do it now while Voldemort felt the most in control and confident. The Dark Lord's shield would block even the most powerful Core Magic that Sirius was capable of in his injured state and the Unforgivables were some of the slower curses and Voldemort would easily be able to get out of the way in time.

But one thing he didn't expect was that Sirius was carrying Muggle weapons. Sirius using his naturally superb reflexes, whipped a throwing knife out of his wrist holster and sent it at Voldemort, who though loath to admit it, ten years out of a body does slow a person's reflexes. Despite his best efforts to move in time, the knife caught him in his left shoulder drawing a hiss of pain from the Dark Lord.

This gave Sirius the edge he needed to stay in the game for the time being. He tried to capitalise by sending a powerful bolt of energy at the Dark Lord whose shield being weakened shattered, sending the most powerful Dark Wizard stumbling back looking absolutely fuming, the magic was rolling off him in waves as he tried to recover from the onslaught.

Sirius was desperately trying to maintain his advantage on the Dark Lord sending wave after wave of Core magic at the Dark Lord who was blocking everything Sirius threw at him. Sirius was attempting to think of a new plan but the Dark Lord had other ideas.

Waving his hands quickly and muttering some words that Sirius couldn't make out as any recognisable language, the ground started to crack by Sirius's feet as black beams of energy attacked him from the sky.

Raising his best shield Sirius self levitated himself quickly out of the danger area but not quick enough. A beam of dark energy hit him as he was landing and his shield shattered as a wave of unimaginable pain rivalled only by that of the Cruciatus ripped through his body.

Sirius fought against the pain with his Core Magic rushing to overwhelm the pain. Staggering to his feet Sirius succeeded in ending the pain but he felt like he had hardly anything left and he still needed to take the Dark Lord out of the picture long enough for him to shatter the anti-apparition. He knew that he needn't worry about Remus, he could take care of himself.

Rolling left to dodge a curse then right to dodge another, Sirius was fast losing hope of leaving alive with his body movements got more and more sluggish as his injuries were overwhelming the magic and adrenaline running through his body. Vaguely hearing screaming in the background, Sirius didn't have time to even check whom it was that was in what sounded like an excruciating amount of pain. Drawing his wand Sirius bellowed:

"Seco" The throat slashing curse sped towards Voldemort who responded by sending the curse back at Sirius along with two Killing Curses that Sirius barely ducked.

"Dedgroah"

"Exterbo"

Both curses hit in mid air and both followed up with a blast of magic, Sirius's tainted white whilst Voldemort's was deepest black.

These bolts of energy connected in mid-air and to Sirius's horror he found that Voldemort's beam was eating his so to speak. What made him more frightened was that he couldn't move, he was locked in some sort of magical battle with Voldemort and that could never be justified as good.

Pushing more and more of his Core Magic into the connection between the two magic's, Sirius reversed the direction of energy as his white beam started to make its way closer to Voldemort.

Voldemort looked nonplussed by the happenings and not being able to move but nonetheless pushed hard with his magic knocking Sirius down to one knee. Sirius was not going to give up easily and without using every last ounce of strength that he had. Shoving hard with all his strength and essence, Sirius was holding his own with the connection and was vainly trying to regain his footing.

Suddenly Voldemort pushed with all his magic and Sirius felt his world go dizzy as his magic all but collapsed under the onslaught of pure Dark Magic that was coming from the beast that could no longer hold the title man.

With the Black Beam getting ever closer to his face, Sirius vainly tried to fight back but for the first time in his life he found that he magic was failing him, in reality there was no more magic left to push with, he had simply used it all up.

Resigned to his fate Sirius thought about all the failure in his life: James, Lily, Remus, Harry, he had failed them all, he was worthless, his best wasn't even close to being enough. Looking up one last time Sirius used every last ounce of strength he had to rise to his feet and face the oncoming beam, if he was going to die he was going to do it on his terms, he would not die on his knees.

The beam was inches from his face, Sirius's life flashed before his eyes, his horrible childhood, his abusive parents, his screaming mother but more importantly he saw James, Lily, Remus, Harry, his Godson, his Angel, his reason for being. He had failed Harry and Sirius felt he deserved to be in hell for the rest of eternity just for that fact.

Then something happened. Through his blurred and double vision Sirius saw a blur crash threw the beams, then the biggest explosion he had ever heard crashed threw his ears making him wonder if he was dead and the beam had already hit him.

The magical backlash struck Sirius like a knife through butter, he thought once more of Harry and as the body of Sirius Orion Black flew through the air, and the blackness overtook him.

****

(Simultaneously)

"Moony, get the rat!" Sirius snarled attention taken from Voldemort for a moment.

As Remus rolled away from Voldemort's curse he heard his friends shout and followed his eyes to where Sirius was looking. Upon seeing his one time friend rising, Remus let out a primal growl and with one last look at his friend face to face with Voldemort, he charged at the traitor who looked like he was struggling to his feet unarmed.

This however was not the case and when Remus got within ten feet of the supposedly struggling Pettigrew he found that he had a wand pointed right between his eyes and a curse was already on its way to him.

Thankfully, Remus's curse, his life's bane, the one of a werewolf, just happened to save his life. Using every last one of his super enhanced reflexes Remus barely managed to dodge the sickly apple green curse that had been heading away. A curse that Remus knew damn well that he would never had recovered from.

Pettigrew soon recovered from the shock he felt from Remus dodging the curse at point blank range. This was due to the fact that he knew Remus was a werewolf and that Adava Kedavra was one of the slower curses. Pettigrew soon tried to take the offensive but Remus had recovered and the pair launched simultaneous attacks on each other.

"Expelliarmus", Peter cried going for a simple but effective way to end the duel.

"Iuguolo", Remus bellowed, not bothered about using such a curse as the throat slashing curse, he had to finish this soon and work out a way to get him and Sirius out.

Remus easily side stepped Pettigrew's curse while Pettigrew himself barely blocked Remus's curse, his shield wavered and bent before finally holding firm. Sensing weakness Remus began firing off curse after curse at Pettigrew who began acting more and more desperate as the curses that came flying at him from Remus's wand got ever closing to striking him. After barely dodging a stunner, Pettigrew thought he had enough time to retaliate, but he had miscalculated.

"Subsis…."

"Blasot", Remus cried first, beating Pettigrew to the all-important curse.

As Pettigrew had just cast a curse of his own and due to the proximity between the pair, the rat had no chance to produce a shield. The blasting curse struck him full on, sending him flying ten foot in the air where he hit the ground with a sickening thud, lying flat on his back, seemingly oblivious to the world.

Remus stalked over to where Pettigrew now rested, quickly summoning the traitors wand from where it lay just feet away from his arm. When he was within five feet he sent a binding spell at Pettigrew but to his utter shock and dismay, Pettigrew had just vanished into thin air.

__

"Impossible" Remus thought to himself as he began scouring the area for Pettigrew, _"Not even Sirius could apparate past these wards and he had no wand, let alone the power to make himself invisible."_

Then it came to him suddenly and he cursed himself for not figuring it out earlier. Whipping his wand in a wide motion over the ground in front of him, Remus bellowed:

"Accio"

Nothing happened for a moment but then a small grey rat came flying towards Remus who raised his wand to stun the rat but before he could complete the motion, a balding man was flying towards him in place of the small rat.

Remus had no chance to move in time, super reflexes or not and Pettigrew collided with him heavily sending both of them crashing to the ground in one big heap, both wands flying from Remus's grasp.

Using his enhanced strength Remus rolled on top of Pettigrew and proceeded to deliver several punches to his jaw though it was Pettigrew who knocked Remus two-foot in the air when he delivered a sickening uppercut with his new gold hand to the werewolves jaw.

Remus was about to attempt a wandless stunner on Pettigrew when to his shock and absolute horror Pettigrew raised his gold hand and chanted in an almost reverent voice:

"Crucio"

Werewolf transformations were said to be one of the most painful experiences that a person can go through, but compare to that of the Cruciatus, even a relatively weak one such as Pettigrew's, a werewolf transformation was like scratched knee. Wave after wave of white-hot pain was coursing through Remus; his bones felt like they were melting while he simultaneously being stabbed by hot pokers. Then as suddenly as it started it ended.

Even though Remus had been held under the curse for twenty seconds he felt like he had run a marathon. Every muscle in his body was cramping and wave after wave of nausea hit him as he frantically tried to re-focus on his surroundings. Soon the reason for the curse stopping became apparent. Pettigrew couldn't resist having a dig at his old friend.

"How the mighty have fallen hey Moony old friend. I was always the weak one, the pathetic little hanger on. I was always so jealous of Sirius and James. They got whatever they wanted without even trying. But look at the two of you now, you are nothing. Once my Lord has destroyed Black and I have disposed of you then we can proceed ahead in getting that little Potter brat. My Lord will reward me above all others and I shall stand at his side as the world becomes ours." With this proclamation Pettigrew steadied his hand raising it at Remus once more.

Remus though during the time that Pettigrew had been giving his speech was desperately trying to wandlessly summon his wand. The thin stick of wood was slowly inching its way towards Remus who was thankful for Pettigrew's lack of focus as the warm wood found its way into his palm. Looking up Remus found Pettigrew's hand pointing at him and was afraid that he would not be able to curse him in time but Pettigrew hadn't finished his speech yet.

"You were a worthy opponent Remus but My Lord has given me powers that are far beyond yours. I really should kill you now but who can resist a little fun!" Pettigrew said, a twisted grin crossing his features making him look similar to that of which a deranged clown might look. "Say goodbye to your mind for me Rem…" Pettigrew

"Expello Maximi"

The curse struck Pettigrew in mid-speak and he flew through the air as Remus took note of his surroundings for the first time since his duel had started.

There was rubble everywhere; small craters had formed where Sirius and Voldemort had clashed. What's more, the two aforementioned people were currently involved in a magic battle that a battered, brutalised Sirius appeared to be on the edge of losing while a relatively untouched Voldemort had a maniacal grin spread across his features.

It was then that Remus watched with morbid fascination as when the black beam was only inches away from Sirius's face, Pettigrew who was soaring towards the ground, intercepted the beams of pure magic causing one of the biggest magical explosions that Remus had ever seen.

Putting up the strongest shield he could muster, Remus felt the magic take out the anti-apparation wards as raw magical force exploded across the clearing. The magic ripped through Remus's shield like it was not there yet it was only due to Remus's shield that the werewolf didn't receive any serious injury. Hitting the deck hard Remus looked up to see Pettigrew and Voldemort tangled in a mass of limbs on the floor and pulling himself to his feet, Remus saw this as their one chance to escape.

Moving as fast as his body would let him, Remus made his way over to Sirius. Upon seeing his friend laying there on the floor Remus though _"Oh Padfoot, what have you done?"_ Sirius was a bloody battered mess and even though he had cast three Enervate charms on him, he was barely twitching and Remus had already wasted enough time as he saw Voldemort rising to his feet.

Knowing that only one place in the world could help Sirius now, Remus grabbed his friend and joint apparated them. Moments after they had disappeared, the green of the Killing Curse flashed through the spot where they had once been standing.

Arriving on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, Remus knew that this was the only place that could help Sirius at this time, he just hoped that they weren't killed or arrested first. Remus shuddered at the amount of magic he had used apparating them such a distance and he felt decidedly light on his feet as well as suffering from exposure to the Cruciatus curse.

He had come back to the only place in the world he could think of, the place that he swore never to enter again, a place that to him was only marginally better than the forests of Albania.

He had come back to Hogwarts, he had returned to save his best friend, hell his brother. He had returned to persecution.

But at what cost?

****

AN

****

I am so sorry my faithful readers; I am having problems with my frame of mind and as such have already scrapped two full attempts at this chapter, as they were the worst that I have ever produced by far. Truth be told I am only pushing ahead with this story at the moment due to you reviewers. Its just this story brings up too many negative emotions that I can't handle at the moment, too many things are going wrong in life at the moment. I am truly sorry about this but I will plough on with the story.

I am now also based at a Yahoo Group for all you Sirius fans. The address is and it will be where I post first from now on probably. It is also home to the wonderful Loss! A Story by that I recommend to all Sirius fans!

I am on holiday from July 5th for two weeks but I will try my ABSOLUTE best to give you another chapter before then, a chapter from Hogwarts no less. Hopefully when I get back I will feel like writing more, that I pray!

REVIEWERS RESPONCES

athenakitty: The person who they took the blood from was no one important. He was just a Department of Mysteries Worker who was send out by the Ministry to check rumours of Dark Gatherings in Albania and by extension to the Ministry it meant he was an enemy. And therefore his blood could be used as part of the person

Maria: Peter wasn't invited to the meeting in Chapter 2 as it was only the inner circle that was summoned and Peter wasn't in it whilst Sirius, James and Remus were. Thanks for bringing that up, I'll put that in when I do the revision to the chapter!

Maria again: Wormtail's hand was made gold and not silver because it would give him a definite advantage against Remus when duelling as they did in this chapter. Snape a spy, you'll have to wait and see? Wormtail vanished before they could administer Veritaserum to him. Dumbledore will eventually see his mistakes, don't worry about that!

Hexes605: Not A-Levels, just GCSE's but they were enough of a pain! A fellow Essex-ian, what part of the wood did you come from? California sounds great; I want to emigrate to the U.S.A when I'm older if I get the chance. Harry and Hermione friendship, I might work it in just 4 u my fellow countyman.

Geminidragon: If you want Harry to speak Parslemouth then I will put it in just for you, actually a great idea is forming right now…

EnterTheLion: I prefer Neville to Ron, don't like much shipping in my stories and like the Harry and Katie ships too! In this story it would be impossible to make Harry's Dumbledores apprentice but I do like fics where he drops out of the general curriculum but gets apprenticed by someone else, I don't particularly like Dumbledore myself!

Tanydwr: Finally over hey, how great. I had history to on the 23rd but mine finished with Stats on the 25th, then in the afternoon I jumped to Hyde Park to see The Chilis Play, man they were great. Poetry lets just not mention it!

Midknight: Hope your doing well my friend and I want to see some chapters soon unless your losing your mind too otherwise no excuses, you here me!

Shea Loner: H/T is Harry/Tonks and to me is one of the only two ships I can see ever happening in HP World except maybe Harry/Katie!

Nadia Greenleaf: Warrior Mage is fantastic, I've been with it since the start, just wish it would be updated!

walker-of-the-shadow-path: Good Idea bout the Gryffindor connection with Sirius, might just point that out to Ron next chapter, cheers!

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers, you help me more than you could ever know, the story wouldn't be the same without your input!

Cheers

Halstead


	20. Scheduled Life

****

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 20: Scheduled Life

October 3rd 1991

It had been a little over a month since Harry Potter had arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and shocked the Wizarding World. Ever since arriving he had set new standards to the word powerful and had quickly gained a reputation of a person not to be crossed.

Harry himself was just settling into life at Hogwarts. He had made no real attempts to gain friends and was known as a very anti-social person but somehow he had made acquaintances with people from all years and houses. Two of his favourite people were Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor third years and to his shock, pranksters' supreme. They were nothing like their younger brother Ron who still to Harry's chagrin still spread rumours about him. Even though Harry had hexed him numerous times to show the boy that he would hurt him, Ron's hatred only seemed to increase by day and because of this Harry had set up numerous wards to stop the red headed boy messing with him and his things.

Harry had first met the Weasley Twins in one of the secret passages and since then, the three were often seen huddled in discussion when Harry was not in the library studying or up in the Room of Requirement practising.

During the first month of school, Harry had also found himself the target of envious and awe filled glares. This was due to the fact that despite he was still a first year technically, he had become the first, first year in a hundred years to be picked for the Quidditch House team and as seeker nonetheless. This had led to Harry setting another Hogwarts record the next day when in OWL Potions he had gotten 340 points taken from Gryffindor in one lesson. Some of Snapes better ones were:

__

"Potter, 20 Points from Gryffindor for breathing too loud."

"50 Points for getting up too quick Potter."

Even when Harry had just calmly stared back at Snape he got punished.

"100 Points from Gryffindor for trying to intimidate a teacher"

"Another 20 Points for attempting to wandlessly curse a Professor!" Snape had announced when Harry had moved his hand in the slightest motion.

Harry had later found out that Slytherin had won the Quidditch Cup for the previous five years and that Snape was terrified that Gryffindor would win and that he would have nothing to brag about to McGonagall in the staff lounge. That and he had a life long hate against his father, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

Another thing that had made Harry more of a legend at Hogwarts and with the Wizarding World than he already was, was the fact that at eleven years old, he was taking 7th Year N.E.W.T Level Charms, Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts. This also unfortunately had the side effect of everyone in his Defence class wanting to duel with him so that if they won they could tell everybody how they had beaten the great Harry Potter. To put it lightly, after a fortnight, Harry was undefeated and unchallenged though two or three of his duels had been a close call.

This made Professor Lockhart exclaim to anyone that would listen that it was he who gave Harry his duelling skills and that the boy was always begging him for extra lessons. This too stopped when Harry threatened to duel the Professor in front of the class and not only beat him but made sure that he was scarred for life.

The accelerated course load for Harry had led to many people whispering about how Harry was using Dark Magic to fuel his power and knowledge or that Sirius was somehow siphoning off power from himself into his young apprentice as one student had called him.

Harry was still hiding the full extent of his powers and knowledge to everyone but he suspected that the Headmaster knew more about them than he let on. Everyone in the student body knew that he could do wandless magic as undoubtedly everyone knew that he had bested Snape in a duel using it as well as him having a second wand. When he asked Professor Dumbledore about it, Dumbledore had just smiled and said that it was supposed to be a secret so naturally everyone knows about it. Harry had simply made out to everyone who asked that summoning his wand was the only thing he could do wandlessly.

The library quickly became Harry's favourite place within Hogwarts. He had quickly threatened Lockhart into writing him a unlimited pass into the Restricted Session. Harry spent days reading up on other forms of wandless magic including Core Magic, Chaos Magic and Wild Magic amongst others. He had only practised Core Magic slightly in the Room of Requirement but at the present moment was more interested in the theories. Books on sensing magic, wards and auras were also in the process of being read as sometimes Harry could literally taste the magic in the air and he was intrigued to see if he could manipulate it or not.

Obviously it would not do for people to see the boy-who-lived read books that some considered dangerous and potentially Dark Magic so to the casual observer all it would seem that Harry did everyday was read book after book on Quidditch.

As Harry sat down for breakfast he had a feeling that today was going to be one of them days as he had History of Magic followed by Defence. Whilst defence was his favourite subject, Lockhart just sat at the front of the room and watched the students duel. The only thing he made sure of was that only one duel happened at a time.

When Harry was in the middle of eating his breakfast, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom had entered the Great Hall and had sat opposite him. These two were the only Gryffindor first years that Harry had made friends with. Dean and Seamus seemed scared of him; Ron hated his guts while the two other first year girls Parvati and Lavender were only interested in his power and looks.

Hermione and Neville on the other hand were different. Harry had liked Neville straight off because Sirius had always told him that Frank and Gemma Longbottom were good people and great Aurors. Neville held an air of confidence and conditioning that appealed to Harry and the two just instantly clicked. Hermione on the other hand annoyed Harry no end at first with all her questions but he soon found her thirst for knowledge and willingness to discuss magical theories with him was enjoyable and they had soon struck up an academic friendship.

The conversation at breakfast was light between the three but that was mainly because none of them were truly awake at this time of morning. Soon the three left to go to History of Magic with the rest of the first years, who mostly treated Harry like anyone else.

Unfortunately every first year class that Harry took was with the Slytherins and as such he had to endure the presence of not only Ron Weasley but Draco Malfoy as well. Malfoy had threatened Harry many times but Harry knew that they were empty threats. Harry knew to be cautious though. Sirius had told him that despite their hatred for each other, Lucius Malfoy was admittedly a very powerful man who was not to be crossed lightly.

Today was one of them days when Malfoy was in full form. He came swaggering up to where Harry and Neville were standing in the corridor; Hermione had gone to the toilets so it was the two of them. He was accompanied by his two friends/bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle who couldn't do one spell between them and Harry knew that he could stun the pair of them before they realised what time of the day it was.

"So what do we have here then?" Malfoy drawled rhetorically as he looked the two boys up and down. "We have King Potty and big bad Longbottom. Where has the Mudblood gone? Got rid of her already?"

The instance the word Mudblood left Malfoy's mouth Neville had his wand out and had it pointing straight at Malfoy. Harry just stood there looking the boy up and down, a dark gleam in his eye that made the blonde boy reconsider his actions.

"If I ever here you say one more bad word against Hermione again Malfoy, I will not hesitate in breaking every bone in your body just to quick heal you so I could do it again!" Harry told Malfoy, every word laced with magic suggesting that he would do such a thing.

Malfoy took a step back but couldn't resist one last retort at Neville who was in the process of lowering his wand.

"Longbottom, put that thing down, you wouldn't know how to use it properly anyway. Didn't your father teach you any manners? Oh wait he didn't get the chance to!" Malfoy cuttingly said at the boy whose powerful façade faded for an instant to be replaced by a scared vulnerable little boy.

Neville was eventually fuming and launched himself at Malfoy who was prepared for this and easily banished Neville against the stone wall that he hit with a thud and fell to the ground dazed.

Harry was desperately trying to keep his emotions in check, he felt his rage trying to free his magic but he knew that it wouldn't do him any good. Harry was fuming, he stunned Crabbe and Goyle in the blink of an eye and before anyone could protest, Malfoy was magically suspended against the wall with Harry pointing his wand at the boy from about two feet away.

Luckily for Malfoy the bell just rang and not wanting any trouble, Harry recoiled his magic and went into lesson followed by a shocked and dazed Neville and a confused Hermione. Half listening to the man that could put an insomniac in a coma, Professor Binns, Harry vowed that Malfoy would pay for that comment.

For the rest of the day Harry's mind was stuck on one thought, his father. _"How different would things have been if my parents were still alive?" _He pondered silently during one of the more rare Defence against the Dark Art theory lessons. _"I would never have been so powerful and I wouldn't have seen Padfoot and Moony as much but I would have had more friends, I would have had a normal childhood."_ Harry's last thought brought him back full circle. He had never really imagined what would have happened if his parents were still around. Padfoot and Moony loved him and had given him everything he wanted and needed and he wouldn't change his childhood for the world.

As the day went on, Harry got angrier and more frustrated by the state of his thoughts, he was happy dammit and didn't need to dwell on the past. He barely picked his way through dinner and was very listless and nervous, something that he had conditioned out of himself long ago. When he was eating, Harry felt bad, like something bad was about to happen. The feeling in the pit of his stomach kept getting worse and his magic was beginning to get restless and the last thing he needed was to lose control in the Great Hall.

After taking many deep breaths, Harry settled down a bit and had just started on dessert when:

BOOM

The Great Hall doors were thrown open and in came Remus Lupin, right hand men to Sirius Black supposed Dark Lord. He looked like death and seemed to be carrying a copse. It was only when he collapsed microseconds after entering that Harry, already on his feet towards Remus noticed that the "corpse" he was carrying was Sirius.

Grabbing Remus to his feet, Harry forgot where he was but more importantly, who he was with. As soon as Remus got to his feet, reality settled in and Harry barely pulled the werewolf to the ground as the first curses went flying overhead. Remus collapsed as well, not having the strength to get up, Harry was left facing hundreds of wands.

But he'd go to hell and back before one of them curses hit Sirius or Remus.

To that he made a solemn vow.

He drew his wands.

Till his last breath.

They would be safe.

AN

There we go; much better update speed! Sorry if the chapter seems short and rushed, I will fully edit it and beta it when I return from my hols on the 19th of July, hopefully the next chapter should follow a few days after!

A Lot of people have begged me not to kill Sirius off and to be honest I originally was going to kill him off and have Harry… I'm actually thinking of writing two endings, a happy one and a sad one but I'm not sure at the moment?

REVIEWER RESPONCES

Allizarin Sylvain Phyre: Core Magic…. Yes I borrowed that idea from yours amongst others but to be honest I'm not the first and won't be the last, I think the chaos magic that I used in an earlier chapter was something I came across in another story. Anyway when I get back from holiday I expect to see RoC 12 done. Got Me?

Shea Loner: Harry/Tom shudders, never in a million years could I read that ship! shudders again

Dragongirl Jun: U seem to have misread my story in points so let me educate you. I don't mind criticism and I expect it and try to improve my story from it but what u have said is wrong. Harry has been training for five years so will know a lot of curses and is a first year because of the age he is. He is in NEWT 7th Year Classes for Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA and OWL Potions!

Harry at first thought Ron had done a real spell as NO ONE can know every spell in existence but he figured it to be fake when nothing happened. Remember Ron's attempt on Scabbers in PS!

Mistress-Genari: Thanks for your honesty. I know my story is very "weird" and is not to everyone's taste.

WB33: "Mad", "Off in the Head", you sound like you have known me forever! All right Harry/Tonks may never happen in the books but I don't think the age gap is disturbing! Harry/Katie could happen, I mean there is only a year gap and they both play Quidditch together. Thanks for the compliments!

Mafioso: I agree, I was reading through some of the earlier chapters the other day and they seemed worse than I realised. Don't worry though, I'm in the process of editing the whole story so soon everything will be up to scratch.

Hexe605: Get where u r coming from on the H/H front and I have tried to build a foundation for the friendship in this chapter but understand that this story involves Hermione very little and the friendship will have no impact on the story. Colchester eh? I live 20miles from there in a town called Halstead (hence the pen name) and I have family in Colchester! GCSE's really do suck don't they!

Cheers

Halstead


	21. Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED IN BELATED CELEBRATION TO MYSELF, TANYWDR AND ANY OTHER FANFIC READER WHO HAVE RECEIVED THEIR GCSE or A' LEVEL RESULTS,**

**1 A, 8 B'S AND A C PEOPLE, COLLEGE HERE I COME!**

This is just a small reminder of the story so far as I feel it has been way too long:

Sirius took Harry as a baby and escaped to a remote island followed by Remus. Meanwhile the world thought that Sirius was evil and had converted Remus and that they were responsible for the random attacks on the Wizarding World that was actually the remnants of Voldemort's loyal servants. Frank Longbottom and the Prewett Brothers were killed trying to prove Sirius's innocence and the Trio themselves were subject to two attacks before Harry started Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, Harry is probably the most powerful student due to the fact that he has already had seven years of magical tutoring and is widely feared, hated and worshipped. Sirius and Remus, free of Harry started tracking down Pettigrew only to witness him helping Voldemort being reborn which led to Sirius and Remus duelling Voldemort and Pettigrew. Injured heavily, Remus managed to grab the unconscious form of Sirius and escape to Hogwarts where Remus barely got them through the front doors before hundred of wands were pointing at him before he promptly collapsed leaving Harry as his only line of defence.

Now onwards with the story!!!

**Chapter 21: Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned**

Grabbing Remus to his feet, Harry forgot where he was but more importantly, who he was with. As soon as Remus got to his feet, reality settled in and Harry barely pulled the werewolf to the ground as the first curses went flying overhead. Remus collapsed as well, not having the strength to get up; Harry was left facing hundreds of wands.

But he'd go to hell and back before one of them curses hit Sirius or Remus.

To that he made a solemn vow.

He drew his wands.

Till his last breath.

They would be safe.

****

It was like Medusa was in the room because the whole hall, after seeing Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, not only help Remus Lupin, traitor, to his feet but protect him from the curses that some rash Gryffindors had sent. They then saw the child take up a defensive position in front of the now collapsed bodies not only of Lupin but also Sirius Black; the person who they thought had betrayed his parents. This caused the whole hall, teachers included except Dumbledore who had risen to his feet quicker than the human eye could measure, literally freeze in their tracks.

Obviously this didn't last for long as the Gryffindors recovered quickest, eager to prove themselves as heroes, started firing curses at the bodies of Lupin and Black. The Gryffindors were quick to act but not before Severus Snape had risen from his chair firing curse after curse, desperate to be the one credited with capturing Black and finally settle his score with Sirius forever by being the one that handed him over to the Dementors. Before long around half the students were firing curses before anyone could do anything to get the situation under control.

As the bursts of light sped towards Harry at rapid speed his first thought was just to get the hell away from them all. But looking at the fallen and broken bodies of Sirius and Remus lit a fire deep within his soul that was unlike anything that he had ever imagined.

Harry raised both his wands as the first curses; Snape's, drew near and bellowed:

"Henev Fortuna"

At first nothing happened and Harry started to panic, as he had never used this shield before as he had only recently learnt about it. He had found the spell in a book in the Restricted Section of the library during one of his midnight jaunts, under a complex Invisibility Charm, in a book about dangerous and powerful spells that should only by very powerful wizards or as a last resort. The spell unlike other shield spells, is directly linked to the caster's magical power and once erected will stay so unless one of two things happen. Either the caster runs out of magic hence dies or the counter spell is spoken. The upside of this is that the caster can still cast spells whilst the shield is up though it drains the magic quicker plus if the caster is a strong wizard then the shield is breached only by the Unforgivables or the most powerful of curses.

So it was a sigh of relief to Harry when a thin sheet of light around six foot high and ten-foot wide appeared in front of him and instantly absorbed the first set of curses easily even though they were very powerful curses bordering on the Dark Arts. Just as Harry thought that there might be some chance that he would be successful the first set of curse from the students hit the shield.

The impact of fifty or so curses striking his shield simultaneously visibly rocked Harry who felt drained all of a sudden as if he had been constantly using his magic for hours. It was lucky though that only half of the curses that the students had fired hit, due to the poor aim most had. Raising his wand Harry desperately tried stopping the students:

"Explosio"

A sharp intake of breath was heard around the hall as a powerful variant of the Explosion Hex struck the Gryffindor table and sent many of its occupants, mainly the ones standing on it for better aim, flying to the ground in a spray of wood.

Even this wasn't enough though as there were still around twenty students from the other three houses who were brave enough to keep attempting to curse Harry, Remus and Sirius. Although around a quarter of these still missed, the ones that did plus the scattered cursing from the staff table made Harry feel weaker as his shield began to waver. Harry had no choice and muttered the counter-curse to the shield, bringing it crashing down as he reasoned that he would be better use alive than dead. Preparing for battle, Harry was saved from further action by Dumbledore, who had been disarming Snape. Snape was now sitting at the staff table, held in place by some invisible force as he struggled to stand up and reach Black, wand or not.

Flicking his wand Dumbledore created a shield similar to Harry's though this one measured around thirty-foot high and forty foot wide and where as Harry's was a normal dull white, Dumbledore's shone with unnatural brilliance. Then, confident that Harry and the collapsed duo were safe, Dumbledore turned to address the student body who were in various stages of either hiding, tending to their wounds, those of others as many had been hit by their fellow students own curses or still pointing their wands at Harry. The last group to be fair was in a small minority mostly made up by yet again Gryffindors and Harry thought about how foolish and reckless they were. Raising his voice Dumbledore bellowed:

"Will all students kindly settle down. Those injured come and see a Professor." Dumbledore's voice was very different to that of his normal grandfather tone. This voice was that of pure power and authority.

All students quickly obliged at Dumbledore's request, even the bravest/foolish of students would never do anything to annoy Professor Dumbledore, after all, most powerful wizard in the world or not, he was also there Headmaster. Seeing that all the students and staff were now relatively settled although some students could still not get over the fact that the supposed Dark Lord and his second in command were lying unconscious in their Great Hall, Dumbledore took command once more.

"Will all Prefects please escort all students back to their Common Room's where you shall stay until your Head of House has informed you that it is safe to leave. I shall not be sealing the entrances but I will tell you all now, ANYONE caught out of bounds will be expelled immediately. Now good night to you all." Dumbledore finished in a tone closer to that of his normal voice.

The Prefects were the first to act, jumping to their feet and making sure that the younger people in their houses were all accounted for before they started to make their way back to the dorms. They also made sure that none of the older students were stupid enough to try and do anything that would get them expelled.

Once all the students were gone from the Great Hall, Dumbledore turned to address the staff who were also in various states of panic but these people were quickly calmed by the reassuring words of Dumbledore. He assured them that the castle wards had not been breached but he would take care of the matter. He then dismissed them saying that they should turn in for the night and that the Heads of Houses should go to the Common Rooms first thing in the morning to tell the students that the curfew he imposed had ended.

The staff left quickly leaving only Dumbledore and Harry who was vainly casting whatever Healing Spells he knew, which weren't many, to try and stabilise the people who were the closest thing that he had to parents. Running out of ideas, Harry tried to pour some of his own power into the pair of them using a strength-sharing spell but all that accomplished was that the pairs breathing got a little calmer where as Harry started to get dizzy.

"Well, this was unexpected Harry, now how about we get these two to the Hospital wing post-haste." Dumbledore had appeared behind Harry and resting his hand on Harry's shoulder, Harry felt suddenly much more energised and figured that Dumbledore must have done some sort of wandless spell similar to the one that he had just done.

"Professor, Sirius and Remus are innocent you know, I'd swear my life on it, you have to believe me, they didn't…" Harry started babbling to Dumbledore, desperate to make the man see sense as the reality of the situation sunk in suddenly.

"Don't worry Harry, I think that once these two have been patched up under the expert care of Poppy, we ought to all have a little chat and see where we are to go from there." Dumbledore calmly said while patting Harry on the back softly to calm him down.

Shrugging off Dumbledore's kind gesture, Harry started thinking about what was going to happen now. Just thinking about all the possibilities was making his head hurt like mad. But he just couldn't get one thought from his head.

"What about Fudge? He will here about it for sure, and then Sirius and Remus will be shipped off to Azkaban within minutes, injured or not. What power do you have against the Minister of Magic?" Harry questioned, not caring that he was being somewhat rude to the proclaimed most powerful wizard in the world.

"Power over _Minister_ Fudge?" Dumbledore said stressing the word Minister. "More than you could ever know." He answered cryptically, which angered the emotional Harry further but he let it drop. It would be no use getting in an argument with the only person that could help him.

The rest of the walk to the Hospital Wing was done in complete silence with Harry looking up at Dumbledore every now and then but the Headmasters expression never changed from a highly pensive look.

Upon entering the Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey came walking out from her office, there obviously being some sort of alarm set to go off and alert her when the Infirmary doors were opened. She briskly strode over to Dumbledore, probably to ask who's hurt when she saw the two limp bodies floating behind him. Drawing her wand, she got within five feet of the bodies before stopping, an abject look of horror on her features as she turned open mouth to stare at Dumbledore.

"Albus…that is...are you serious…!" Poppy managed to stutter out before Dumbledore once again took command of the situation in a powerful yet gentle way.

"Whatever they are or aren't Poppy, I need these to alive so that we can have a little chat, so if you would please." Dumbledore stated, waving his hand in the direction of the floating men, punctuating his statement.

Not needing anymore prompting, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand at the two man and they suddenly floated over to the two nearest beds. Running up and down the two men frantically, she began casting spell after spell, dealing with the more serious injuries first. On completion of the spells it seemed as if she truly noticed Harry for the first time.

"Mr. Potter, can you grab these Potions for me from the stores cupboard in my office post haste." Madam Pomfrey stated, her strict disciplined nature restored, as she began listing Potion after Potion to the boy.

Harry rushed off to grab the Potions and upon returning he saw that Dumbledore was speaking to the Nurse in hushed tones. Harry wished he could do a Listening Spell but he had no hands free and did not feel capable of using Wandless Magic in his weakened state.

Giving the Potions to the Nurse who immediately began distributing them to the two men accordingly, Harry's attention was drawn to Dumbledore who was beckoning him to join him on the opposite idea of the Hospital Wing.

Once close to the Headmaster, said man flicked his wand and what looked liked a privacy bubble erected around the two of them. Arching his eyebrow slightly, Dumbledore answered the implied question.

"I would trust Poppy with my life but I have learned that the less people that know important things the better."

Harry just nodded before asking the question that was on the tip of his tongue. "How are they?" He bluntly asked not wanting to be messed around.

"They are doing well considering. Poppy has stabilised them and in addition to the fact tat I as well as you have poured some power into them, they are suspected to wake up much sooner they normally would given the extent of their injuries." Dumbledore answered in a tone that warmed the heart of the young boy stood in front of him.

Harry gave a huge sigh of relief that soon turned into a huge yawn as the young boy's heavy day finally caught up with him. Seeing this, Dumbledore reached into his pocket and produced a vial that was filled with what Harry recognised as Dreamless Sleep Potion.

"You are tired young Harry." Dumbledore stated in a kind tone, "It has been a long day. Take this and sleep, I give you my word that Sirius and Remus will still be in the same position they are in now come morning." The man finished in his most kindly grandfatherly tone.

Suspicious of Dumbledore but feeling his body began to shut down; Harry didn't really have much choice but to take the vial from the outstretched hand of Dumbledore. Settling down on the bed across from Sirius and Remus, Harry wearily took the invisible sword off his back before he flicked his wand and changed straight into his pyjamas, too tired to get changed the Muggle way. Then taking his glasses off, Harry was asleep long before his head struck the pillow.

Harry woke early in the morning; he could see the sun just about raised in the sky, indicating that it was around 8am. Wondering what had caused him to awake; Harry soon heard the loud conversation between Dumbledore and Minister Fudge, puzzled as to why Dumbledore speaking in such loud tones before it struck him.

Luckily feeling energised, Harry jumped to his feet and with two swishes of his wand and a mumbled incantation, he was dressed, had his sword re-strapped to his back and was invisible. Then concentrating hard, Harry performed a more complex Invisibility Spell on both men. It would take a powerful wizard to see through those so Harry was satisfied. Then just as he was relaxing slightly, Harry caught another line of the Headmasters conversation.

"…But a whole division of Aurors searching the Castle, Cornelius, isn't that a bit extreme. I have already told you, no matter what you have heard, after waking both men, they somehow managed to escape and young Harry is still in his dormitory where he has been since last night." Dumbledore spoke clearly and loudly, Harry catching on straight away.

When the Hospital Wing doors opened, Harry stealthily crept past the Headmaster and the Minister, seeing Dumbledore look straight at him and giving him the tiniest of nods before proceeding to tell the Minister how Sirius and Remus were not in the Hospital Wing, despite what he may have heard.

Creeping his way down the corridors, Harry ducked through a secret passageway near to the Great Hall, before emerging visible. Entering the hall he was not too shocked to see five Aurors guarding each House Table, the majority of them giving him suspicious looks.

After eating his breakfast, Harry left the Great Hall but could only get about a hundred yards before a group of Aurors unfortunately led by Dawlish, who glared at the child as soon as saw sight of him.

"So Potter, Black and Lupin have finally decided to show their faces and grace the Wizarding World with their presence. Hopefully we'll find them soon; we've got some friends in Azkaban who want to give them a little kiss!" Dawlish laughed at Harry who as soon as hearing it, had his wand in his hand steadily pointing at the Auror who looked slightly surprised.

However these people weren't Aurors for nothing and within seconds Harry found himself at the wrong end of five wands. Grinning maliciously, Dawlish opened his mouth again to speak.

"Potter, you are outnumbered five to one here. Put your wand down and then you can answer a few questions for us, the Minister has authorised the use of a few drops of nice tasty Veritserum for you to have, now drop your wand." The man spoke to Harry as if he was five, a ting that infuriated the young boy about as much as the threat he had just issued.

Not phased in the slightest, Harry asked in a sarcastic voice, already knowing the answer, "And if I say no?"

Being that predictable, Harry had already moved before the Stunning Curse had fully left the lips of the Auror. Swishing his wand and crying "Repello", Harry caught the man unaware and caused him to fly backwards, knocking two other Aurors to the ground with him.

Not allowed a moment to congratulate himself, Harry was already defending spells from the other two Aurors who were not holding back on the eleven year old boy. Deflecting two Stunners before reflecting them back to the men twice as quick using a cool spell he had found in the Library, one of the Aurors fell stunned as the other blocked his just.

Taking the initiative, Harry sent a powerful Paralysing Curse at the rising three Aurors, managing to take two of them out. Rolling to the lift to avoid a spell that Harry had never heard of, Harry blocked a Binding Spell before sending three Bludgeoning Spells at the two remaining Aurors who managed to block them all much to Harry's chagrin.

Dodging two powerful Restraining Curses, Harry sent a Punching Spell at Dawlish who easily blocked it before both Aurors began to send powerful mono-syllabic curses at Harry, a strategy that Aurors have obviously been taught to employ.

Finding hard to defend against all the spells, let alone counter-attack, Harry resorted to physically dodging the spells rather than wearing his magic out constantly defending from them. Rolling to the left, Harry saw his chance and sending the curses sent at him back to the Aurors, quickly thrust his wand towards the one next to Dawlish and cried:

"Fuo"

The Powerful single syllable Bludgeoning Spell took the Auror by surprise, not expecting Harry to know such advanced magic despite what he had already seen of the boy. Already shielding against the Stunner Harry had reflected at him, the Aurors shield collapsed, the curse hitting him throwing the man against the wall where he slumped unconscious.

This just left Harry and Dawlish circling each other, both of them only dimly aware of the crowd that had been steadily growing for minutes, all disbelieving that a first year had taken out four Aurors and was holding his own. Harry and Dawlish weren't bothering about that fact now; to each other they were the enemy.

Reacting first Dawlish sent a curse that Harry had never heard of before at him. Rolling left Harry fired two Stunners one after the other but the man blocked both easily. Harry then went on the offensive but no matter what he did the Auror either blocked it or dodged it easily. Sensing that the duel was slipping away from him, Harry decided to try out something that he had wanted to do for a while.

Waiting for Dawlish to send a curse, Harry rolled forward, under the curse and quickly casting a Wandless Jumping Charm, Harry propelled himself into the Auror, kicking him in the temple, sending the Auror sprawling across the floor, wand clattering from his hand leaving the man defenceless.

Raising his wand, Harry was about to stun the man when suddenly his wand leapt from his grasp. Spinning round, Harry whipped out his second wand, curse on the tip of his tongue, when he saw Dumbledore holding his wand. Worse still was that Minister Fudge was standing there surrounded by what looked like all the other Aurors who all had their wands drawn.

"What is going on here?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically, a smile tugging at his lips.

"They were going to interrogate me Professor. Dawlish said that they had the Ministers approval to use Veritserum on me. It was self-defence!" Harry exclaimed, being smart enough to send his second wand back to its holster.

"Preposterous!" Fudge cried, "You couldn't have taken out five Aurors, Black and Lupin must still be around here somewhere. The boy is making it up Albus."

"Do you want to see what I can really do _Minister?_" Harry asked in a sickly voice that dripped contempt.

Paling, the Minister looked to Dumbledore for help and upon receiving none; he drew himself up to his full height and said "Yes, well you haven't heard the last of this Dumbledore. I know you have something to do with their sudden disappearances. I will be back, that I promise."

With that proclamation, Minister Fudge swept down the hall, all the Aurors following close apart from a few who either awakened or levitated the five fallen Aurors behind them as they left.

Turning to the masses of students who just happened to be in the same corridor as where Harry's duel took place, Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly before announcing:

"However much I would love to find out how the whole of Hogwarts can be in this corridor within thirty seconds of a duel starting, I'm sure you all have better things to do."

All the students began moving, understanding the underlying message Dumbledore had just given them, eager to get out of the way of the Headmaster.

Turning to face Harry, Dumbledore gave the boy his wand before looking him straight in the eye and asking:

"I too wonder how you took out five Aurors Harry but alas I'm sure that have probably forgotten the answer so I will not endeavour to ask but just remember, the Minister is a bad enemy to have, he can make life uneasy even for the best of us."

With that Dumbledore said goodbye, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

Spending the day studying some books in the privacy of his dorm, Harry was dreading the evening meal that night and for good reason. Upon entering the Great Hall it was like a Silencing Charm had been cast, not a sound was to be heard from anyone except Dumbledore who seemed to be enjoying clanking his cutlery and glass just to make a sound.

The looks that Harry was receiving from the whole student body, ranging from respect to awe to fear to envy to lust. Harry shivered at that last one and made a promise that he would never be alone with that particular Hufflepuff Seventh Year.

That night, Harry was sitting in his dorm reading when he felt someone enter the dorm. Expecting it to be Ron or someone he took no heed. When he felt his privacy charms being inspected he drew the curtains, wand in hand to look straight into the face of the Headmaster who found Harry's state highly amusing. Sobering very quickly however, the Headmaster simply said:

"There awake."

**AN**

**Has it really been nearly 11 WEEKS? Where does the time go??? I apologise profusely but I have been working ten hours a day and hence have had less time to write this summer than I normally have when I go to school!**

**Anyway there is some good news, I have posted a new one shot, Twisted, but not on this account, was being stupid and wouldn't allow it. To read, follow the link through my BIO. Also coming soon is another short story and it, unlike HLBLC is nearly complete. It is called Strength in Sacrifice and is mainly from Sirius's POV and the whole thing will be up within two weeks!**

**This story will be now worked on till completion before I do anything else though I have got another couple of stories in the Black Saga in the pipeline.**

**Oh and join the Yahoo! Group, Sirius Denial! Address on my BIO and you can see my work before it is posted on !**

**REVIEWER RESPONCES**

**Araidel: Harry does have the Sword with him at all times still but I will say and I am big enough to admit that I had forgotten about it, doh! Thank you for reminding me, I have included it in the future chapters planning pus this chapter, just for you!**

**blackstar9: To be honest, I think people have Harry friends with Neville rather than Ron when Sirius raises him as Neville is easier to identify with!**

**Knucz: How long do I usually take to update? I have now updated about 4 times in 5 months but before that I was updating once a week. Hopefully I am going to try getting back to that or at the most once in every two weeks, its my aim to get the story done by Christmas, it was the challenge I set up when I set the story.**

**Thanks for the overwhelming patience and support and cheers!**

**Halstead**


	22. Try Honesty

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter dedicated to Jeanne2 and Yana5 for their support and review of every chapter since the story has started, you don't know how much it means to me.

**Chapter 22: Try Honesty**

**October 4th 1991******

"They're awake."

These words reverberated through Harry's ears several times before he felt he could move. Suddenly he felt very small again, he was going to see Sirius and Remus again and they were all right. His breath hitched in his throat as he visibly calmed himself, on the inside however he was a crescendo of emotions.

Opening his mouth, he simply replied; "Let's go then."

With a nod from Dumbledore as simple conformation of his statement, Harry watched as the Headmaster waved his hand and suddenly Harry knew he was invisible even if he could just about make out him. _"Of course!"_ Harry thought to himself, _"He wouldn't announce himself by walking through the Common Room; even Professor McGonagall_ _rarely comes in downstairs let alone the dorms."_

Walking down the stairs in front of Dumbledore, Harry walked his way stealthily to the exit, not wanting to get in to any conversations or worse confrontations. Being Harry Potter however, nothing seemed to go as he planned.

He was so close to the exit, only ten or so steps away when he heard the voice he had become to hate with a passion, a voice that seemed to follow him around every day, a voice that never had anything good to say, the voice of Ron Weasley.

"Where are you going Potter?" Ron spat as if saying his name was a sin, "It's close to curfew but I suppose that doesn't matter to the Great Harry Potter. Going to learn some more Dark Magic are you. Actually I hope you do as you'll probably lead the Aurors to your two criminal buddies, Black and Lupin and we all know that so many Dementors want to give them a little kiss, I even heard they were fighting each other over who gets the pleasure!" Ron laughed crazily as if he had just said the funniest thing ever.

Fuming, Harry repressed his magic and simply said, "Goodbye Ron."

Turning round and taking another couple of steps, Harry froze dead in his tracks when he heard what Ron had to say next, his body shaking more and more with every word that the boy said.

"You're a disgrace, Potter. It's lucky your parents are dead; otherwise they would have been ashamed of you. You think you are so special, you're nothing but a junior Death Eater whose parents are turning in their graves!" Ron screamed in Harry's face as the whole Common Room fell silent with the unbelievable words Ron had just said. They might not have liked Harry and some hated him but to say that was beyond the line.

Harry felt like he was suffocating, _"Were his parents ashamed of him?"_ he thought briefly before dismissing the notion as he knew the truth about his live and the events around it. Then he felt it, white hot hate in his very core, he couldn't suppress it. Harry vaguely felt Dumbledore casting silent Calming Charms on him but it was to no avail.

Turning to look at Ron, the boy took three steps back at the deadly look in Harry's emerald eyes. Harry had his wand in his hand in a blur but before he could use it, he felt a massive vice like grip take hold of him and make him walk the last through steps out of the portrait hole. Turning to look back at Ron, Harry told the boy in a voice that promised revenge.

"Enjoy your body Weasley as when we finish this, you will never have full control over it again!"

Dumbledore had to literally throw him out in to the corridor where the first thing Harry did was let out his magic, two suits of armour were vaporized as bolts of Core Magic ripped through them. Slamming his hands on the wall, Harry barely noticed that he had made huge dents in the stone. Tears of anger, frustration and helplessness streaming down his face, Harry felt the comforting hand of Dumbledore on his shoulder.

Looking up at the man, Harry realised the reason why so many people feared Dumbledore. The look on the face of the Headmaster made Harry's one a minute previous seem like a smile. Power and Authority was rolling off of him in waves, Dumbledore removed his hand from Harry's shoulder and with a gentle wait here, the Headmaster strode into the Gryffindor Common Room.

A few minutes later the Headmaster exited, a grim look on his face as punishing students was what he felt to be the worst part of his job. Giving Harry a sad nod, the pair made there way in depressed silence. Harry had later found out that not only had Ron been reprimanded in front of the whole of Gryffindor House but he was also giving nightly detention with Snape for three months. To rub salt into the wounds, Dumbledore had also promised to speak to his parents about the matter.

The walk to the Hospital Wing was done in complete silence as if Harry and Dumbledore were heading to a funeral but both were too caught up in their thoughts to think about the situation ahead of them. Harry was in turmoil not knowing whether his parents would have approved of the life he has led while Dumbledore was thinking about the power Harry had and also how despite all his years, he had no meaningful words of comfort to offer to the boy.

Upon entering the Hospital Wing though it was like a vacuum had sucked up all the bad thoughts that he was having. Seeing Remus and Sirius awake and talking was enough to forget all the things that Ron had said…for now.

Flinging himself at Sirius who was closest, Harry started mumbling, "I am so glad your fine, you looked dead, then Remus collapsed, what happened?

"Whoa little one!" Sirius exclaimed returning his godson's hug with vigour, "Nothing much. I just happened to get into a duel with Voldemort, nothing big really."

At this statement, Dumbledore couldn't hold back from the conversation much longer, he stepped out of the shadows and said in a voice that sounded amused yet stern at the same time: "Then I'm sure you and Mr. Lupin must have an interesting story to tell, I would love to hear it."

Harry was in the process of hugging Remus when Dumbledore said this and Harry felt the werewolf stiffen. Wanting to calm the pair down and to quell their fears, Harry said.

"Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore here was the one that saved you guys, he brought you up here and notified me when Fudge and his Aurors arrived."

At this statement the pair visibly relaxed and Harry had to only wait a few seconds before Dumbledore gently reprimanded him for lack of respect to the Minister. A small smile graced Harry's face as he saw Sirius and Remus looking at him lovingly; it really had been far too long since they had seen each other, considering that they had never been apart for barely a day, let alone over a month.

Sirius, ever the impatient Marauder broke the silence, "So, what happens from here Albus? What do you want from us?" he asked quietly, questioning whether he really wanted to know the answer.

Dumbledore did not answer the question immediately; he instead seemed deep in thought. Finally he sighed, looking much older than normal and answered, "I need the truth, the full truth and then we can see what happens from there."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other for a moment, looking like they were communicating telepathically before Remus spoke, "You will get the full truth but Albus we need you to promise on thing: If anything ever happens to us while Harry is still a minor, please make sure that he is looked after" The werewolf's tone was full of love and fear for his young cub.

Dumbledore answered quickly, "You have my word gentlemen." He said in a tone full of respect and understanding.

Nodding his head, Sirius and Remus began alternately telling their story with Harry eager to help in the parts that he knew about. They spoke for hours, Dumbledore wanting to know everything while Sirius and Remus were thankful for someone listening, all past grudges gone as the three of them went on to discussing the threat tat a newly risen Voldemort possessed. Harry was shocked at hearing what had happened to Sirius ad Remus after he had gone to Hogwarts and also a little guilty that Sirius and Remus had to wait till he was old enough before they started to fight for their innocence. Sirius must have seen Harry's face change and pulled his godson into his arms.

After asking every question they could think of, Dumbledore was in tears at the torment he had put two innocent men and by extension Harry. He apologised profusely and there was a time that Remus and Sirius would have blasted the old man into the wall for even making such a lame gesture after all the pain he had put them through but times had changed and so had the priorities of all the men in the room. Sirius and Remus learned an important thing that many a great light wizard in recent years has forgotten: Albus Dumbledore is not infallible.

Emotions were running high but they were brought crashing back down to Earth when Remus, the ever sensible one, brought up the topic of the Ministry. It was then Harry's turn to tell his story of all his meetings with the Ministry. After telling them all about it, Sirius fumed, and then seemed really proud before acting all worried about his young charge. Remus meanwhile snickered at how Sirius was reacting but was looking at Harry through sad eyes, seeing for the first time just how much his life has been affected through no fault of his own.

A comfortable silence lapsing in, Dumbledore was interrupted by Professor McGonagall who burst through the doors looking very angry and flustered, something that even Sirius and Remus had never seen let alone Harry. Approaching Professor Dumbledore, the Professor opened her mouth to speak but upon catching a glimpse of Remus and Sirius sitting up in bed she lost whatever words were on her lips.

"What Minerva, what troubles you?" Dumbledore asked with an unmistakable tone of urgency to his voice, knowing that it takes a lot to get his Deputy that way.

"Albus, it's the Minister. He's here with three whole squads of Aurors; he says that he has evidence to believe that you have Black and Lupin within the building. Even worse than that, he says that he wants to take Harry to the Ministry for questioning!" McGonagall exclaimed clearly worried about the safety of her young Gryffindor.

Albus gave no visible sign that the words of his Deputy affected him, he just sat there, stoic as ever before answering, "Cornelius has taken the route I feared. The hysteria of your reappearance has just made him eager to sate the publics demand. I must go speak to our Minister. Do not leave this room until I return. That is of great importance, do you understand."

With that statement hanging in the air, Dumbledore strode from the room with determined strides followed by a confused McGonagall. An oppressive silence filled the Headmasters exit, all attempts at small talk ended quickly until Harry spoke up with a question that shocked Sirius and Remus.

"Padfoot, Moony, would my parents be ashamed of me?" Harry asked in a pained tone, emotion dripping from his voice.

"Of course not Harry, your parents loved you very much and always will. What made you ask that?" Remus asked concerned about the look on Harry's face.

"It's just someone said that my parents would be ashamed of the way I am now, being bought up with you two. He said that I was basically a junior Death Eater." Harry replied bluntly.

Jumping to his feet, Sirius al but shouted, "I've never heard of such rubbish Harry. We aren't evil, your parents loved you and so do we. You, Remus and I or your parents for that matter have nothing to be ashamed about. If anything they would be proud of the boy you have grown to be, so forget all this nonsense."

As Sirius wrapped his arms around him, Harry felt so much better hearing the words from his Godfathers mouth and his fears about his parents being ashamed melted away.

His Godfathers voice snapped Harry out of his daze when he asked:

"So what fool put this ideas into your head?" Sirius's angry tone implied that he was not happy in the slightest with the person who upset his precious godson.

Before Harry was able to answer his Godfather however, Dumbledore re-entered the ward frankly looking very worried. Wasting no time in preamble, the Headmaster cut straight to the point.

"Cornelius was beyond the point of reason, I'm sorry. He is on his way up here now with a whole division of Aurors. We must get you all to safety, even you Harry. Cornelius believes that you are helping Sirius and Remus with their "schemes"." Dumbledore gravely announced not looking happy in the slightest.

"Where are we to go though, I'm pretty sure that the cottage has been discovered by the Death Eaters. We can't just wander around the country!" Sirius exclaimed not bothering to think before speaking.

"The Shack!" Remus answered cryptically all of a sudden, Sirius looking at him like he was crazy. "The Shrieking Shack" Remus elaborated giving Sirius a "you really are stupid" look.

"Perfect" Dumbledore announced before looking pensive. "You must go now, Cornelius nears. God speed and take these now. I'll be in touch."

Dumbledore then handed Remus and Sirius a potion each that Harry identified as some type of Energy Potion though he wasn't a hundred per cent sure.

Taking the potion quickly, Sirius and Remus felt much more energised and drawing their wands, the trio left the Hospital Wing behind Dumbledore who said that he was going to delay the Minister for as long as possible.

The trio crept through the corridors, taking as many secret passages and unused corridors as possible. Harry was thankful that the Marauders knew the castle so well. Suddenly, as they ducked behind a passage Harry spoke up:

"Why don't we cast Invisibility Spells on ourselves. That's how I hid you two first time round." Harry asked as if they were all the dumbest people in the world.

"Harry, hiding a non-moving object is much easier than trying to make a moving person invisible. At a push Sirius and I might just be able to accomplish it but it would leave us terribly drained and unable to defend ourselves." Remus explained kindly, his quiet voice echoing in the passage.

Through amazing luck the three made it to the Entrance Hall without any problem. The Entrance Hall was currently empty so the trio made a dash for the doors. Getting to the doors without being seen, the trio sped out onto the lawns and hopefully freedom.

Alas, it was not to be. Like a person on the edge of dying, being told they were to live only to be then told that they would in fact die, Sirius, Remus and Harry had the luck of running into a group of ten Aurors who obviously were patrolling the grounds.

Reacting quickest, Sirius sent an Explosion Hex at the group of Aurors sending some diving for cover, Sirius turned to Remus and Harry.

"Go now, Remus take Harry and get to safety, I'll meet you there later. Don't look back, run please." Sirius said quickly, tears filling his eyes.

Remus was about to object before taking one last look at his oldest friend. Nodding his head slightly, Remus mumbled something to Harry before the pair took off for the Whomping Willow while by now all the Aurors were standing, wands pointing at Sirius who had gone into a defensive stance. Stalling for a plan, Sirius got an idea. Donning his most evil smirk that sent a chill of fear running through some of the more new Aurors, Sirius let his aura show before announcing in a tone that made the Aurors quiver:

"So, who here wants to challenge a Dark Lord?"

Then he raised his wand

**AN**

**Now that's a better speed!  
  
**

**I have another new short story posted. It's very near completion and should be entirely finished by the time YHSR 23 is published. It's called Strength in Sacrifice and the first chapter is up now!**

**Let me just re-assure you readers, I AM NOT giving up on this story, however I think that this will be my only novel length story for a while, I'm more into short stories at the moment.**

**OH and for all of you who are intrigued or want to use some of the types of magic that I have used in my stories, I have posted a little document/essay called Magic, it should answer some questions.**

**REVIEWER RESPONCES**

**Araidel: Nice imagery! Just for you, in one of the remaining chapters I will put in something that you may well need a pack of calming pills for!**

**AKA Hummer: I know what you mean about stories, I have over 150 on three different accounts, and it's hard to remember which is which sometimes especially if they are not the best ones.**

**Blackstar9: Sorry, No Philosophers Stone storyline in this, if you want them I can recommend you a couple, just drop me a mail and that goes for any reader wanting a story recommendation!**

**the-grey-lord-of-disorder: as above, mail me with what category and I will help out.**

**Brenna8: Harry isn't anywhere near the level of Dumbledore or even Sirius or Remus…yet? I actually did put in a line that said Dumbledore put his hand on Harry's shoulder and he felt a lot better and energised otherwise yes he would have collapsed.**

**Shadowed Rains: Finally, someone who understands, but tell me this, have you ever worked out why because I haven't.**

**Mafioso: I don't find your review annoying at all, in fact I prefer them as they help me become a better writer. About being wordy, I think that this may be because I don't like to be repetitive in my statements whenever possible. Sorry Ron isn't my favourite character but I like Gryffindors and I am not in love with Neville but this is the way it's to be for the story to work. You will hate the way I've portrayed Ron in this chapter but I'll do you a deal, you keep reading and I'll have Ron apologise and make up with Harry slightly at the end. Harry is in for a fall pretty soon, that all's I say but he will recover but he won't be the "hero", my lips are now buttoned.******

**Cheers**

**Halstead**


	23. Right on Time

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

DOUBLE UPDATE: SIS 3 NOW UP

Chapter 23: Right On Time

Sirius let his aura show before announcing in a tone that made the Aurors quiver:

"So, who here wants to challenge a Dark Lord?"

Then he raised his wand.

"Blasot Depui"

Sirius immediately sprung into action after sending a variation of the Blasting Curse that ended up being more like a Blasting Bomb. A little satisfied at taking three Aurors out so early in the game, Sirius knew he had to concentrate his full attention on the seven Aurors, who were by now retaliating. Muttering a personal Shield Spell Sirius was forced to move.

Dodging three curses, Sirius raised his wand and swung it like a Muggle Baseball Bat at two incoming curses. The curses then struck what looked like an invisible mirror before shooting back at the casters. One of the Aurors couldn't move in time and was already in the process of firing another spell at Sirius so a shield was out of the question. Falling to his own curse, a more powerful version of the Stunner, Sirius couldn't fire anymore offensive curses as spells were now raining at him from all angles.

Blocking three spells, Sirius was desperately trying to launch a counter attack to avail, he just didn't get a minute's rest. He was very lucky as it was that Albus had given him and Remus some sort of hybrid Replenishing Potion as otherwise Sirius didn't think he would still be standing. Thinking of a new plan, Sirius rolled to the left dodging a couple of powerful Binding Curses and quickly switching his wand over to the other hand, Sirius dropped to the floor and rolled under another curse before reaching into his ankle holster and pulling out a Throwing Star.

Then rising to his feet, Sirius blocked a Stunner with a wave of his wand before throwing the Star at an Auror who was struck dead on by the flying weapon before he even had a chance to react. The Auror dropped to the floor unconscious as the poison the Star was coated in began to work.

After taking out another foolish young Auror who had no defence up whatsoever with a powerful Stunner, Sirius was left with four remaining opponents. The quick loss of over half their squad had made the remaining Aurors think strategy and they fell back from Sirius talking in the quietist of whispers while using many hand signals.

Trying to capitalise on this respite, Sirius muttered "Serpensortia" and watched as a jet black 20 foot snake emerged from his wand. Thinking about how some people could actually talk to these things made him shudder momentarily. The Snake set out straight for an Auror, who by the looks of it were trying to trap Sirius in a pincer movement with two Aurors going left whilst the others travelled in a parallel direction.

The Auror though had obviously encountered such tactics from Dark Wizards before and easily vanished the snake with a wave of his wand long before it could attack. Then as if they were telepathically linked the Aurors all started firing curse after curse at Sirius who was doing all he could to ride the onslaught and stay in the duel.

The tide had turned on Sirius as he was being pushed backwards across the grounds of Hogwarts by the advancing Aurors. Getting weaker by the second, Sirius barely sidestepped a Bone Breaking Hex before having to shield from yet more incoming curses.

Trying vainly to mount a counter attack, Sirius managed to knock another Auror out with a well placed Throwing Star but he suffered for it. A Bludgeoning Spell slipped through his defences and dealt him a grazing blow but luckily his personal shield absorbed most of the damage before falling. Only taking a couple seconds to fully gain control, unfortunately this allowed the Aurors to again gain the upper hand.

Now physically resorting to dodging most curses, Sirius was feeling both magically and physically drained somewhat, his power weakening with every second that passes. Then things just went from bad to worse. While fending off the two Aurors who were coming in from the right, the other Auror just vanished into thin air.

While Sirius was powerful, he was not as knowledgeable as wizards like Dumbledore and had less of an understanding with magic in general. So where as Dumbledore could see through Invisibility Spells, Sirius could hardly make out the outline of the person so he was at a serious disadvantage.

The first spell from the mostly invisible Auror just missed Sirius by inches, the two visible Aurors spells crashed into his shield that wavered slightly.

Getting more and more desperate by the second, Sirius saw that he had actually been pushed back hundreds of yards and was actually quite near to the Whomping Willow, his escape path. Seeing this filled Sirius with a grim sense of determination, a will to carry on, he was going to get out of this mess.

However, while this sounded good in theory, in the real world Sirius was still left facing three Aurors, one of whom was invisible. Deciding to take out the biggest threat first, Sirius waved his wand and cried:

"Accendo Gyrus"

A huge ring of fire spread out from the centre of Sirius's wand and spread out rapidly sending the two visible Aurors diving for cover powerful shields stopping the flames of the fire. The invisible Auror also had to shield himself and as soon as Sirius saw a flash out of his periphery vision he spun round bellowing:

"Subsisto"

A more powerful version of the Stunner sped towards the Auror whose shield couldn't withstand the power of the two curses and collapsed sending the now visible Auror slumping to the ground out cold.

What Sirius didn't bank on was the power of the Aurors shields. They were powerful enough so that the Aurors could fire curses through them, a technique Sirius didn't know the Aurors learned. Consequently he took two Bludgeoning Spells, one to the head and another to his chest. This sent Sirius sprawling to the ground, his vision blurring while he vainly tried to rise to his feet. It was not to be successful however as both remaining Aurors raised there wands and intoned:

"Expelliarmus"

Sirius tried to hold onto his wand with all his might but it slipped through his grasp clattering onto the ground far away. Still he knew all was not lost so barely rolling from the Stunners that would've defeated him; Sirius rose to his feet but before he could act he got hit with a Bone Breaking Hex in his left shoulder sending him to the floor in agony. He must have blacked out for a second as when his vision focused the Two Aurors were standing above him, triumphant gleams in their eyes.

"Not so special now are we Black." One spat at Sirius, giving him a sharp blow to the ribs to punctuate that statement.

They then hit Sirius with another Bludgeoning Spell each nearly knocking the man out but Sirius clung to consciousness as without it he was lost. The two Aurors were now arguing quietly amongst themselves but after a few seconds they obviously came to a agreement.

Sirius was gathering all his strength for one last bid for freedom and as the Auror that kicked him said "Subsisto", Sirius acted. From seeming nowhere he pulled a sword straight from the air and shouted

"Stupefy"

The sword glowed red for a second before shooting the curse at the shocked Aurors, one of whom failed to move in time and went down to the ground in a heap.

Jumping to his feet, Sirius ignored the pain and unsteadiness he felt as he sent curse after curse at the Auror mainly to not give the man enough time to wake his comrade but also to see if he could bide enough time for a miracle to happen.

This is how the duel went for the next minute or so, neither man gaining any advantage but Sirius was weakening dramatically. This was because the sword had no magical focus and Sirius had to concentrate much more just to cast simple curses and by now he was bleeding from various wounds on his body as Cutting Curses from the Auror had slipped through his shields.. He still had his Animagus form and this was how he planed to escape but he needed to distract or defeat the Auror first, he couldn't have anyone witnessing his departure and therefore compromising Remus's and Harry's security.

That was Sirius's mistake and he paid for it. Seeing that he wasn't focused one hundred per cent on him, the Auror quickly cried "Fuo"

The powerful single-syllable Bludgeoning Curse really caught Sirius off guard and before he could even attempt to put a Wandless Shield up, the curse smashed him straight in the face, causing blood to pour from his nose whilst he fell to one knee. With a tap of his wand the blood stopped and Sirius was ready for battle again but the delay had cost him dear and he knew that. However the most unlikely saviour came to Sirius's rescue and afterwards Sirius would thank the heavens for once actually listening to him wondering dimly whether God had finished that tea break just in time.

A shrill scream of terror echoed out on the grounds followed by a solid thump signalling that said person had hit the ground hard. The Auror made the fatal mistake of trying to play the hero and spinning round, curse on lips ready to curse whoever had attacked the innocent women; he was stunned to see Cornelius Fudge lying flat on his back with two Aurors running towards him while around ten more running over to him though they were quite far away. Turning back round the Auror nearly fainted when he saw no one, Sirius had disappeared!

Sirius had indeed taken the chance to escape with both hands and milliseconds after the Auror turned his back on him, Sirius quickly thanked the mans incompetence before a close to silent pop echoed quietly through the air easily drowned out by the scream of Fudge. Where once stood a man, there was now a big black shaggy dog that melted in with the night.

Not wanting to test his stealth ability, Sirius took off across the grounds towards the Whomping Willow, keeping in the shadows where he could. Unfortunately for Sirius, the injuries he sustained whilst in human form were carried over to his canine form so he was limping rather badly and his breathing was getting heavier and heavier by the second.

Approaching the Whomping Willow, Sirius saw no one in the vicinity so he promptly changed back into his human form and looked for anything he could use to press the knot and by consequence freeze the trees flailing branches.

Getting fed up and starting too feel really sleepy after only a few seconds, Sirius quickly formed an extension with his magic and "pushed" it into the knot effectively freezing the branches.

Stepping one foot down into the tunnel, Sirius got ready to perform one more bit of wandless Magic. It was not at all advisable but he had to, there was no other choice. Closing his eyes and focusing hard, Sirius murmured:

"Accio Wand"

After a few seconds waiting where Sirius briefly thought that it wouldn't work, he heard the familiar rustle of an object flying through the air. Quickly plucking it from the air, Sirius all but fell down the stairs, the entrance now closed.

Rising to his feet uneasily, Sirius wearily trudged down the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack. Every footstep was getting harder and when Sirius finally reached the entrance to the shack it felt as though he had run a Marathon in full armour.

Stumbling through the Entrance like he had consumed bottle after bottle of Firewhiskey, Sirius was only vaguely aware of Remus and Harry rushing over to see him. Both were gob smacked at his appearance.

Sirius stood there, caked blood on every part of him, one eye partially close while it was obvious that he had been bleeding from the nose and mouth. His robes had been torn in places where the Cutting Curses had struck and he was limping. The last thing that Sirius said to a worried Remus before passing out was:

"You should have seen the other guys."

**AN**

**No Cliffy this time, you deserve a break because the one's from here on in are going to be brutal, believe me, I'm the one whose going to write them!!!**

**Another chapter, a short one indeed but you should feel lucky, it wasn't even in my plan for the finishing of the story, in fact I was just going to have them escape without a hitch but it just seemed too easy.**

**Next update might not be for a couple of weeks. I have 1-2000 words left on SIS before that is finished plus I have a ton of work plus some extra as I barely did anything today, I have now been up for nearly seventy hours straight and its now 00:11 Saturday Morning as im writing this so I think I'll post this in the morning when I can re-read it and make corrections. I just wanted to warn you but I will not fall off the face of the earth again, promise!**

**Reviewer Responses**

**dj-cam****: One very good question there, the answer is read on!!! Just think though, isn't anyone on the light side an enemy of Voldemorts?**

**Lil**** Miss Potter: Yes Dumbledore was slightly OOC in that part but to me however it was the lesser of two evils. It was either that or he would do nothing and that would damage his relationship with Harry but I do get your point.**

**Faceless One: Once again thank you for another review and I agree that Sirius is condemning himself but he also knows that no matter how hard anyone tried, Fudge would not see him as innocent, much like canon.**

**Once again thank you to my reviewers, some who are still reviewing chapter after chapter even though the story is reaching its ninth month, you are my muse. My aim is to have this done by Christmas, only seven more chapter left, (at the moment).**

**Cheers**

**Halstead**


	24. Lost to Betrayal

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 24: Lost To Betrayal

16th January 1992

It had been over three months since the reappearance of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to the Wizarding World and as of yet the Ministry hadn't made one progress into finding them let alone capturing them. The public were growing more restless by the day and they thought they had good reason, random attacks on Muggles were starting again and the Dark Mark was seen increasingly more, inspiring terror that hadn't been experienced for years. It was a double blow for the Ministry that Harry Potter, conqueror of Voldemort had also disappeared into nothingness. From what the Ministry had gathered the boy had gone and become a fugitive with his murderer of a Godfather and the Werewolf. This led to morale in the Wizarding World being rock bottom and as the storm clouds hovered in the horizon people were questioning whether or not the Light side could survive the upcoming battle.

Yet not one of these people in the Wizarding Community knew the truth, even the ones that thought themselves knowledgeable about these matters. Only Albus Dumbledore knew the truth about the situation. The wise Headmaster of Hogwarts; surely people listened to him? Not only did they ignore the Leader of the Light and Defeater of Grindewald but the Minister himself scoffed at the words of the illustrious man even forcing him out of some of the positions that he held around the world, going as far as to threaten him with Azkaban if he kept sprouting such nonsense in public. Luckily the Minister had no chance of ejecting Dumbledore from Hogwarts so the school was still safe…for now.

While the Wizarding World was in denial however there were three people that hadn't stopped preparing for the inevitable. Holed up in the Shrieking Shack for their safety, Sirius, Remus and Harry were training harder than ever both magically and physically but there was still the feeling that it was too little to late. But this didn't mean that they would give up. On the contrary, if you asked any one of them what they would do to rid the world of evil and you would get the same answer: anything.

At the current moment in time however, the trio were having a conversation that they had had many times, well Remus was berating Sirius who had apologised profusely but it didn't seem to satisfy the Werewolf.

"I can't believe that you could have been so stupid Padfoot, what were you thinking!" Remus rhetorically asked but Sirius answered anyway.

"I have already told you, I needed to keep their attention on me and bide myself some time till I could think up a plan." Sirius said exasperated with a hint of anger in his voice.

Remus's expression softened a bit but he pressed on; "Couldn't you have said something else, what chance have you got now of being pardoned."

At this statement Sirius stiffened slightly and Remus immediately realised that he had maybe pushed the Animagus a tad bit too far.

"What did you want me to do Moony? Say wait a minute please highly trained and dangerous Aurors while I think of something to say that will bide some time for me to think up a plan and let Remus and Harry escape. God dammit Remus, there are more important things to think about than this, please drop it." Sirius ended his rant with a plea full of lethargy; everything that had happened in a few short months had taken a lot out of Sirius especially.

Harry just vaguely kept with the conversation whilst reading an Advanced Defence textbook. Or that was what it looked like to Remus and Sirius. Truth be told, Harry was reading a book on some of the more obscure not to mention dangerous branches of magic that existed. Ever since he had stumbled across a book in the library that listed these magic's, Harry had been intrigued and had become obsessed with learning about them. He felt that he had a duty to protect Remus and Sirius as it was to him, his fault for making them the most wanted men in the Wizarding World. So any free time he had at Hogwarts involved him in the library reading a book from the Restricted Section. Obviously the book was enchanted to look like a simple Defence book otherwise the Librarian would have skinned him alive.

Harry's scar had not hurt much lately which was a good sign because since the re-birth of Voldemort he had been having a dull headaches and an occasional burst of pain but nothing too serious. He hadn't told anybody as Dumbledore would ask too many questions while Sirius and Remus would confide him to his bed indefinitely and he would miss out on all the action and that would be no fun.

An uncomfortable silence had settled in the room but thankfully it was broken after a few minutes when in a flash of red and gold Fawkes entered the Shack. All jumping to their feet, wands appearing in hands, the three sighed in relief when they saw Fawkes.

Flying briefly over to Harry who give him a quick stroke much to the delight of the so called immortal bird who had taken quite a liking to the boy, Fawkes flew over to Sirius and offered him the message that was tied to his leg just as well as any post owl would.

Unrolling the message and breaking the seal quickly, Sirius seemed to read the letter again and again, each time his face paled and his hands shook more before he virtually thrust the note into the now worried face of Remus. Ever the calm one, Remus read the parchment carefully before shaking his head and reading it again. An uncomfortable silence lapsed for a few seconds before Sirius, ever the patient one, spoke his mind.

"No way!" Sirius exclaimed, "What does he want us dead? As soon as they see us it will be bye bye Padfoot and Moony; the old coot has finally lost it!"

Harry was baffled by his Godfathers words and had taken to stroking Fawkes who apparently had been told to wait for a reply of sorts as he had not left and was gazing and Sirius and Remus intently.

Taking a deep breath, Remus sighed heavily, "Padfoot, Albus must have his reasons, we can't do this on our own any more, he's stronger than ever and we both know people are flocking to him by the day, they will understand."

Sirius cursed loudly, "Sure Moony, you mean like they did a decade ago, they sure stuck by us and believed us, I say we ignore it." Sirius gestured to the letter that lay on the tabletop.

"We can't Padfoot, look Dumbledore won't let anything happen to us, and after all he is the one that is inviting us. What have we got to lose?" Remus asked his friend.

Sirius grumbled something incoherent, before retorting, "What about Harry? It says to bring him with us, what is he going to do? The Ministry want him so he can't exactly go walking round Hogwarts and he is definitely not coming with us?"

Remus muttered something about mangy dogs and killing curses before finally saying in a voice full of determination and authority; "Look Padfoot, I don't like it but we each have our emergency Portkey and our wands, lets just go now."

"What are you talking about?" Harry finally had enough of being ignored and just as he thought, both Sirius and Remus jumped, having forgotten that he was in the room.

"We have to go to Hogwarts for a meeting with Albus Harry and he said to bring you, is that okay?" Remus asked politely.

Harry's eyes lit up at the chance of getting out of the Shack for a while and he might even get a chance to go to the Library for a few books. Nodding his head swiftly, Remus grabbed on to one of Fawkes fathers like Dumbledore said to do in the letter with Harry jumping up and doing the same thing seconds later.

Growling, Sirius glared playfully at the puppy dog faces that Remus and Harry were making and grabbed the Phoenix Tail not before taking his wand out and Harry and Remus followed suit.

With a flash of fire they were gone and the last thing Harry saw was the emblem on the letter and he now knew where they were going:

The Order of the Phoenix was back in action.

With a disorientating flash, the Trio landed where they quickly discerned to be the stairs leading up to Dumbledore's office. Task now completed, Fawkes vanished again, now doubt to tell his companion that his visitors had arrived.

With a deep breath of courage, Sirius and Remus told Harry to stay where he was and they ascended the stairs, making it to the doors to the Headmasters office within seconds but to their surprise they found the doors locked.

Sharing a glance with each other that plainly said that they had never know the doors to be locked before, Remus knocked on the door and heard the slight buzz of noise that was coming from behind the doors cease completely. Then Dumbledore began speaking for around a minute or so before he shouted in his normal courteous tone with a hint of amusement mixed in:

"Come In"

Wearily pushing the door open, Sirius and Remus stepped casually into the room where it seemed the world had frozen for a minute. Obviously Dumbledore had told them something but had failed to mention the actual identities of the people. Then as if a light switch had been flicked back on, it started.

"It's you!!! Stay away you foul creature!"

"Albus what on Earth is the meaning of this?"

"EXPELLO"

"STUPEFY"

These were just some of the many reactions, all unfavourable towards Remus and Sirius who to their due were still standing in the same position as if they entered. Thankfully no of the spells actually flew as Dumbledore had some how summoned every member of the Orders wand without them noticing.

"Silence!" Dumbledore bellowed, "I thought I told you not to be alarmed and that these three people were on the same side as us. Now everyone sit down."

Even Dumbledore's semi-authoritative tones couldn't stop another outburst of noise and hysteria;

"Preposterous"

"Albus, have you finally lost it?"

"They betrayed the Potter's Albus, you can't be serious?"

Dumbledore was furious by now and had stood up from his desk, his anger and irritation rolling off of him like waves. "SILENCE" He shouted and the room that was already silent seemed to shrink back even more. It was in that moment that the new members of the Order realised why Dumbledore was the only person Voldemort ever feared.

When he realised he had everyone's full and undivided attention, Dumbledore sat back down his desk and conjured a teapot before turning to Sirius and Remus and saying "Where is young Harry?"

"He's waiting on the staircase; we didn't think it was altogether safe for him to come up with us. Guess we were right!" Sirius all but spat at the rest of the Order, the majority of still fingering their wands, ready to curse both the men at the drop of a hat.

Dumbledore nodded his head sadly and with a click of his fingers a House-Elf appeared in front of the Headmaster who quickly whispered the creature some things and with a feverish nod the House-Elf disappeared as quickly and silently as it had came.

Remus calmly patted the agitated Sirius on the shoulder and was just about to open his mouth to ask the Headmaster about the point of this meeting but someone beat him to the punch.

"Albus, can you please explain to us the point of this. I know you told us that nice little story before _these two _arrived but surely you can't be serious. You've seen what they have taught the _brat, _they can't be trusted anymore than the Dark Lord himself." Snape spat in the most derogative tone he could muster and saying that about the Potions Master was saying something.

Dumbledore looked ten years older at these words and seeing that nearly half of the Order was actually agreeing with him made his blood run cold. Oh how he wished he could turn back the clock but alas, such questions were useless and he knew that. There was only one way to go and that was forward.

"I made a grave error many years ago when James and Lily were killed. Blinded by grief, an old man made a terrible mistake. I know that Sirius and Remus will never be able to forgive me but you people, my allies, you have the chance to remedy some of my failings and succeed where I failed." Dumbledore spoke in such a heavy tone, the weariness and pain in his voice cut deep into many members of the Order who saw, some for the first time that their beloved Leader of the Light was not infallible.

After this announcement talking broke out amongst the Order and as Sirius and Remus looked round the room they witnessed mixed reactions to this statement. Some were looking at them in sorrow and begging for forgiveness, others seemed weary while some looked disbelieving as if what Dumbledore had just said was rubbish.

Seeing that this was going nowhere, Dumbledore looked torn between two options for a few seconds before standing up and saying in a heavy tone.

"That is all there is to be said my friends, hear my words I beg of you. However I know that is all I can ask. If you do believe in the innocence of these two men then we will reconvene in an hour, if your looking for something to do in the meantime then Hogwarts has a good library." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled

A few of the rising Order groaned on reflex to the bane of their school days as the majority of them went away to re-collect their thoughts.

Just over half a dozen wizards and witches remained, mainly ones who Sirius never saw in the Order the first time round. The other ones probably had children, Sirius mused as he thought about why the remainder stayed, especially as they were in disagreement with the views many of their peers held.

Sirius barely heard the Headmaster say something to women called Molly who Sirius vaguely thought to be of relation to the deceased Prewetts who he still held massive amounts of respect for, as they died along with Frank Longbottom for believing his innocence.

The Headmaster fell into a stupor for a second before a resolute expression spread across his ageing features. Looking pensively and disappointedly at the silent Order members who felt like scolded schoolchildren at that instant in time, the Leader of the Light shocked everyone present in the room including a couple of the newer portraits by suddenly waving his hand, wand grasped between his fingers as if it had apparated there and saying:

"Obliviate"

The utterly bland look on the face of the Headmaster when he said this contrasting sharply with the looks of betrayal and shock on the Order members the split second they knew what was happening before there mind went blank would stick in Sirius's mind for a long while.

From the looks Remus was giving the Headmaster, Sirius would place Galleons on the fact that the Werewolf was just as shocked as he was and also just as unprepared when in the same movement Dumbledore flicked his wand and the two of them became invisible.

Marvelling silently at the power the old man still held, Sirius fumed slightly at the Headmaster and his not telling of what he was about to do. However if Dumbledore felt uneasy with the situation he didn't show one ounce of it as he addressed the now dazed Order members in front of him.

"Thank you all for coming, that will be all that is needed tonight. Your patience has been appreciated and all of you have my full support in your task of finding new members for the Order. Just remember to vet them thoroughly and gain as much information as you can. Apart from that, have a pleasant evening." Dumbledore told the members in his best grandfatherly tone.

The Order members seemed to be embarrassed as if they thought they had fallen asleep and left the Headmasters office as quickly as they could without losing their dignity and using magic.

Chuckling softly Dumbledore quickly cancelled the spell and acting as nothing had happened and he hadn't just illegally memory charmed over half a dozen people, chatting mindlessly with Sirius and Remus until the rest of the Order began filing back in.

Without the presence of the people who disbelieved Sirius and Remus and their innocence, the meeting went much smoother with only suspicious glances being thrown now and again but it was truthfully to be expected considering most people in the room had considered Sirius to be the most evil wizard in Great Britain.

From intelligence submitted by two or three members including one from Snape, who Sirius glared at from the first second he re-entered the room despite the constant prodding he received from Remus, it was soon apparent to Remus if not the sometimes juvenile Sirius that these reports were the reason why himself and Sirius were invited back to the Order prematurely for lack of a better term.

It appeared that after much digging and help from Snape, the Order had found the location of a supposed safe house of the Dark Lord's that had just been set up and as a result had yet to be properly warded as in only the building itself had been done not the grounds which only had one ward at the moment in time. The problem was that none of the Order was really suited for the task as it involved listening to the Death Eaters plans but as the nearest cover was 50 foot from the front door, it would take amplified hearing of which Remus possessed, plus the fact that the wards only recognised humans so Remus and Sirius in his Animagus form could pass through the wards where no other member of the Order could.

After much discussion and pleading from Dumbledore, Remus and Sirius agreed reluctantly though they insisted that Harry stay at the Shack and not come with them, he was too young after all to be put in such dangerous surroundings despite his abilities.

After the rest of the Order had taken their leave, Dumbledore briefed Sirius and Remus fully on the situation showing them estimated plans of the building and all known wards and cover areas. With an emergency Portkey each, it seemed a very simple mission for the two of them but they knew that they were the ones who could do the task best, mundane or not.

They didn't know how wrong they were going to be proven.

**17th January 1992**

Harry settled down after taking a long shower, content to be lazy for once and rest for the night. With Sirius and Remus gone on their mission about an hour ago, Harry knew that they wouldn't be back for at least another couple. He began to reach for his book when he felt something was wrong, the hairs on his neck were on end and he could swear he could taste something wrong within the air. Not liking the feeling one bit, Harry jumped to his feet and drawing his wand swiftly, he swept it in a wide circular motion while muttering a brief incantation.

A bright light appeared before Harry's eyes and he knew immediately that his feeling weren't false. The wards that he had set up on his own after studying them recently had been broken quicker than he thought possible. The main wards that Sirius and Remus had set were being broken slowly yet still they would fall soon.

Horror settling in on his young features, Harry could only think of two people that could break the wards so quickly and he was sure that Dumbledore would use a more convenient way to enter. So the only person left it could be:

Voldemort had come.

Survival instincts kicking in right way, Harry spun on his heels and started to make his way quickly across the room to where the tunnel back to Hogwarts led when an almighty crash resounded through the room and many footsteps echoed on the hard floor.

"Running like a coward, your Mudblood loving parents would be proud to know that there son is exactly the same as them!" A hypnotic silky voice, snake like in pronunciation echoed through the room.

Fuming, Harry knew there was no escape now and spun on his heels and almost gasped at the sight before him. The once man Voldemort now resembled an indescribable creature, half human, half demon, his red eyes even more bright than Harry's own shocking green.

Harry's instincts and years of training kicked in and he quickly surveyed the room. He knew there was no way he could have apparated out, he still felt the wards in place and he didn't know how to make a Portkey. Shaking his head Harry knew he couldn't dither. The room was now occupied by about ten Death Eaters who were flanking Voldemort looking thoroughly bored at the seemingly easy task. Taking note of this, Harry spun on his heels quicker than most thought possible, wand flying to his hand as his mouth opened to bellow:

"Reducto"

Harry's curse took them all by surprise and sent two Death Eaters flying into a wall, both of them landing hard. By some unspoken command all the remaining Death Eaters piled forward in the small Shack ready to charge and capture the boy who defeated their Master.

Harry wasn't finished though and rolling to his left seeing three curses hit the place where he previously stood he swept his wand in a tight motion and watched amazed at his good fortune as one of his newer learnt Silent Spells took all the Death Eaters feet from under them.

Capitalizing quickly on his luck, Harry starting shouting "Subsisto" again and again into the mangle of limbs on the floor, taking out five more Death Eaters with the more powerful form of the Stunner before the Death Eaters began to regroup. Harry then heard a curse flying through the air and not knowing what the curse was he raised his wand quickly and cried.

"Aegis"

The curse struck the shimmering shield powerfully but the shield held barely wavering before stabilising. Sidestepping a curse, Harry cursed his luck when he saw Voldemort had entered the fore, not too pleased at the beating his Death Eaters were receiving.

Harry quickly sent a Blasting Curse at the nearest Death Eater who at that distance had no chance of successfully blocking, the Curse striking him dead in the face, his mask shattering as he fell leaving the visage of an unconscious Severus Snape staring up at the world.

Shocked, Harry had no time to ponder on his thoughts as the remaining Death Eaters decided to batter him with spells, apparently deciding that it would be easier if they worked as a team. His shield getting weaker and space to dodge getting smaller; Harry decided that he needed to get out of the corner because he soon would be trapped. Waving his hand swiftly and muttering briefly, a small bank of dense fog started appearing, cloaking his positioning.

Concentrating hard, Harry waved his wand and turned invisible and immediately felt the drain on him. Knowing he could only hold the charm for a minute at most before collapsing, Harry managed to make his way to the side of the Death Eaters who were puzzled at where he went, not thinking that he could do a powerful spell as such. Two Death Eaters fell to Paralysing Curses quickly, not knowing where he was though to Harry's dismay Voldemort did and with a wave of his wand, Harry was caught unaware and thrown across the room where he landed hard, his wand rolling from his grasp.

Stars clouding his vision, Harry jumped to his feet hoping to get to is wand but Voldemort had summoned it the instant that it had left his hand. Motioning for his Death Eaters to stand back, Voldemort stepped within twenty feet of Harry whose scar was now prickling uncomfortably.

"Well now that that is over, I think that it is time for you to learn a lesson in manners and respect for your elders..." Voldemort cackled and hissed raising his wand menacingly.

The Dark Lord never got the chance to start what was most probably an Unforgivable when Harry, desperate for survival and the fading hope of being rescued, pulled out a dagger and threw it straight at the Dark Lord from such a distance that there was no way the aging man could have avoided it.

The result of this however was not what Harry had hoped. Instead of him doing damage to Voldemort he did nothing of the sort, the dagger didn't even reach that far, bouncing of an invisible shield before dropping harmlessly to the floor.

Cackling madly, Voldemort raised his wand and without uttering a sound sent Harry flying across the room where he once again clattered into the wall before his brain could even process what was happening.

No longer smiling, Voldemort began to get angry with the whelp of a child in front of him. "Didn't your Mudblood loving godfather teach you any manners because your Mudblood mother certainly didn't the have the chance too. That trick might have worked for him but it won't for you and will never happen again. Black got lucky, you boy won't. Now a little taste of respect is needed I think."

Then with a deft flick of the wand, catching Harry unaware, Voldemort hissed "Imperio"

The curse struck Harry full on knocking him a step backwards on impact. It was a wonderful feeling for Harry, he was carefree, no one hated him, no one thought he was evil and he could just be a normal happy child. A voice resounded in his mind saying "bow to me" and he thought he would comply without question. After all, who would harm him in this heaven like place?

As he was about to do said thing though, a small mouse like voice that sounded like hell itself resounded through the pure air and told him "no", "don't do it". Struggling to comprehend, Harry froze, listening closely for the other voice that he had barely heard. Then it came again telling him the same thing.

"BOW TO ME". The other voice was back again sounded gravely different to what it did last but even the booming power it contained was overshadowed by the voice that Harry recognised now to be his own. So he did, he said no again and again and again until he felt he couldn't scream anymore.

Then as suddenly he left reality, Harry re-entered to the view of a stunned Voldemort and astonished Death Eaters. Being quickest to react, Harry called his second wand to his hand with a thought and cried

"Blasot"

The Blasting Curse was slight off target for Voldemort though it did send another two Death Eaters sprawling, the whole room unaware that Harry had a second wand in his possession.

A split second is only how long the advantage Harry had; unfortunately very few wizards can keep up with an enraged Voldemort but one whose anger was fuelling his magic, let's just say a dozen Hungarian Horntails seemed appealing to Harry at that moment in time.

Curses sizzled without words spoken; Harry was scrambling to raise his shields in time as he took shot after shot from Voldemort and the slower but no less deadly Death Eaters. Shields weakening by the second at a rate that made Harry feel like a squib, desperately trying to think of a miracle that would allow him to escape but he was out of ideas, his sword would be useless against Voldemorts shield and his wandless magic was weaker than his second wand.

Then as soon as Harry's fight back begun, it was over. Tired of playing by the conventions, Voldemort waved his hand in a wide arc sending a red beam flying low at Harry who just managing to jump, got rewarded by getting hit dead in the chest with a Bone Breaking Hex, cracking at least three of his ribs,

Flying backwards to the ground, Harry heard a loud smash vaguely in the background as through double vision he witnessed the injured and unconscious Death Eaters being Portkeyed out.

A red flash was the last thing he saw before blackness overtook him, a loud pain filled shriek the last thing broaching his ever escaping consciousness as the Stunning Curse struck him.

The loud smash that Harry had heard was that of the combined fury of Sirius and Remus tearing down the wards that the Death Eaters had erected like paper, before they burst through the door, Unforgivables on their lips if it meant that Harry would be safe,

But Sirius and Remus just couldn't get their in time, no power on Earth could have stopped Harry's kidnapping despite Sirius's best effort, he still wasn't quick enough and this fact would haunt him to the day he died.

Voldemort had come and he had taken what he sought.

Harry Potter was gone.

**AN**

**Apologies for the delay I haven't had a free minute for about two months now. Damn College is sucking the life out of me, why didn't I just take an easy course? Not to worry, three more chapters probably then it's finished, Christmas hopefully but New Year is the new aim with the 15th of Jan, the one year anniversary being the latest deadline.**

**I did want to put a part about Sirius and Remus on their little mission in this chapter but I think I'll put it the next as a flashback of sorts, just want to get this posted really.**

**A few of you have commented on the quote Sirius made about challenging a Dark Lord, I have hopefully poured water on the fire in this chapter even though I can't go back and change what he said.**

**I have a LiveJournal now so check there for updates on the progress of chapters and also my yahoo group, links on my BIO.**

**REVIEWER RESPONCES**

**shina-schatten: Snape was back at Hogwarts because all the Death Eaters apparated out of the clearing just before Voldemort spotted Sirius and Remus. So he would have been back safely at Hogwarts when Sirius arrived with Remus. Not telling you what side he is on though if any, Snape is not really included in the working plan for this story though the plan does change from day to day.**

**Lady FoxFire: I know Remus, Sirius and Harry have bad luck but would you rather them have good luck or a happy ending?**

**Blackstar9: Who said that Voldemort is going to die? Anyway as you shall see time will be extended to cover longer periods.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers, you are the lighter when I sometimes think the candle has gone out permanently.**

**Cheers**

**Halstead**


	25. Failed Days of Doom

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 25: Failed Days of Doom

January 17th 1992 (The Night Harry Was Captured)

Sirius and Remus for lack of more creative terms were bored. Bored out of there minds to the extent that going on a date with Rita Skeeter in the Forbidden Forest seemed appealing to them at that current moment in time.

The Death Eater safe house had no activity going on it at all. While Sirius and Remus had both cast numerous detections that indeed told them that there should be around twenty Death Eaters in the place, not so much as one of them had moved in the last fifteen minutes, a fact that puzzled both men greatly as when they had arrived there was activity. Albeit less activity than expected but there was still some activity yet somewhere around under an hour ago, since they last cast the charms, all activity had stopped completely.

More minutes passed before the silence and lack of goings on finally got to a naturally impatient and reckless Sirius who jumping to his feet blowing most of his cover though the Disillusionment Charm still shielded him mostly.

Remus, caught unaware by his friends sudden movement and the subsequent blowing of any cover they had held, tugged harshly on the bottom of Sirius's robes and shouted in the lowest voice possible.

"You trying to get us killed again Padfoot?"

Sirius gave Remus a quelling glare, "Something isn't right here Moony, something should be happening and I for one have had enough. Can't you see that?" Sirius asked in a slightly angered tone of voice.

While Remus couldn't help but agree with Sirius, he still didn't agree with his methods, "Padfoot," Remus pleaded, "Don't do anything rash, just wait a while."

These words however had no effect on the frustrated Animagus who felt something wasn't right more than he knew but if it was one thing about himself that he had gotten to trust it was his instincts.

Muttering an apology to Remus, limiting the damage if he was indeed wrong and would burst in to find twenty wands pointed at him, Sirius cancelled the Disillusionment Charm and all subtle probing gone, he raised his wand and chanted:

"Mecerb Duna"

A powerful Detection Charm shot towards the house though it was one that impacted on the wards themselves, making it a useless charm to use if secrecy is wanted as those who were magically astute, which unfortunately meant most Purebloods due to the nature of their upbringing could sense the disturbance.

Sirius, past the point of care, had information flowing through his mind from the Charm and found that the house was more heavily warded than he thought; some wards even had been masked and unrecognisable to him meaning that was more than the basic wards he had been told about. Frustrated at not having enough skill in the subject to identify them, Sirius told Remus this information, sending the man deep into thought.

What confused Sirius more was the fact that none of the magical signatures of the Death Eaters in the house had changed position since he had cast the Charm and this puzzled him to no end.

Impulsively striding forward, seeking the answer to what seemed to be either dead or sleeping Death Eaters but hell even sleeping people moved, Sirius raised his wand at the door and bellowed at the same time as Remus shouted for him to stop:

"Elabro"

The door slammed inwards, debris flying everywhere as Sirius waited a few seconds for what should be a flood of Death Eaters streaming out of the house.

Yet nothing and more importantly no one came.

Striding into the house, Remus by his side now that their cover was blown, Sirius had barely got two steps into the house before he knew something was wrong.

Suddenly Sirius fell to the floor, his knees buckling as a scream escaped his lips, shocking Remus who couldn't see where the problem was coming from.

Intoning "Finite Incantatem" yielded no results and Remus was getting worried though Sirius had now stopped screaming though he was gasping for breaths.

"Padfoot!" Remus shouted at the man desperate for an answer, "Padfoot!"

Sirius, getting to his knees shakily gasped, "Harry…the wards…Voldemort…Harry" in what seemed like a superhuman effort.

Remus just stood there for a few seconds, dazed by the events before snapping into action. Pulling Sirius to his feet, they locked eyes for a split second before Sirius seemed to slump in defeat, the colour returning to his cheeks as his legs steadied.

"Let's go." The Animagus said bluntly before both men apparated back to the Shack.

Rather they tried because they were still standing in the same place. Both men felt the magic surrounding the house go crazy, heavy protective magic blanketing the house, attempting to seal any form of escape.

Snarling, Sirius had taken well enough of this and with the thought of Harry facing that evil monster in his mind, raised his hands and lash out as hard as he could at the wards, he himself stumbling from the backlash as the force shook the whole house.

Screaming, Sirius raised his arms again and Remus felt the wards bend as he himself sent what magic he could muster at the wards.

The wards flickering, Sirius screamed out something in an unknown language that Remus had never heard before but the effect was that of what was wanted. A huge crash and a backlash of magic signalled something had happened to the wards though Remus didn't have the skill to tell what.

"Quick" Sirius barked at Remus as he had managed to temporarily blow a hole in the wards.

Running outside, the pair of them apparated as close to the Shack as the newly erected wards let them which was quite close due to the hasty erection of them.

Sprinting up the path, Sirius heard a pain filled cry from within that he knew was Harry. His gut wrenching he heard Remus growl from beside him as they tore through the flimsy wards the Death Eaters had put on the door as Sirius literally disintegrated it as he shot through, the Killing Curse on his lips for anyone who was hurting Harry, Dark Lord or not.

But even as he felt the bolt of green light escape his wand, the popping noises only confirmed that he was too late, Harry at gone.

Falling to his knees, Sirius screamed in such grief stricken fury as the windows shattered into millions of pieces, the residents of Hogsmeade from that day more fearful of the Shack than ever.

Remus seemed to be beyond fury and was currently barking out all the detection and tracking charm that he knew vainly, though his efforts were to no avail, nearly sending the angered Werewolf out of control.

Sirius just sat there for a moment, his head in his hands as the magic palpitated the air around him, seemingly incapable of doing anything, his brain temporarily frozen by the thoughts running through it at seemingly impossible speed.

Then as suddenly as his control was lost, it was regained. Jumping to his feet, a look in his eye that even scared the furious Remus somewhat, Sirius took off into the secret passage that led to Hogwarts, Remus cursing under his breath before he took flight after his friend, ready to do damage limitation to whatever Sirius was planning to do.

Reaching the Whomping Willow in record time, Remus was nearly panting and for a Werewolf that was something while Sirius was sprinting like he was out for a light stroll. Realising that his magic was propelling the man, Remus was thankful for having inhuman speed as he trailed Sirius wondering what he was going to do next.

Remus decided that whatever happened Sirius was going to something he would regret and what would perhaps bring more trouble than needed, especially with Harry missing. Sending a Stunner at the running man, Remus was flabbergasted to see it just dissipate before it even got near him. Sending another with exactly the same consequences, Remus cast an Invisibility Charm in a desperate attempt to at least keep Sirius out of view and was relieved when Sirius did flicker out of view for a second before re-appearing to Remus who as the caster could see him.

See the Animagus at the doors, Remus just remembered to cast the Invisibility Charm on himself before he put on a burst of pace and just as Sirius opened the doors to the Entrance Hall and about to disappear to who knows where, Remus managed to tackle him to the ground.

What seemed like a good idea fast turned into one so bad it made going up to Voldemort wandless and politely asking Harry back an excellent idea.

Barely hitting the ground with Sirius, Remus was blown back by the sheer power of Sirius, smashing his head on the main doors, his vision worryingly blurring, the sheer power of Sirius's repulsion sending shivers down the werewolf's spine

Never one to give up easily, Remus saw Sirius rising to his feet and ready to go wherever he was going to go and by the looks of it the dungeons, his intentions now clear and despite how dearly and desperately Remus wanted answers, from Severus especially but a dead man can't answer any questions and in the state Sirius was in all it would take would be one remark from Severus to push the Animagus too far considering the emotional stability of nothingness that Sirius currently possessed.

"Padfoot, stop please!" Remus bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the silent Entrance Hall, "Padfoot, lets just go and talk to Albus!" he pleaded but seeing it having no effect, Remus took his life in his hands.

"Blasot" he screamed and watched with part horror, part relief as it struck Sirius dead in the back but was horrified when the only effect the curse had was to make him stumble.

However he did stop, but yet again the Stunner Remus sent dissipated, frustrating him as Sirius's aura was obviously blocking the less powerful curses, giving Remus a hard choice about whether to use more drastic measures to subdue his friend.

Thankfully, Remus was spared from his grave decision by none other than Albus Dumbledore, fluffy slippers and all, appearing from an alcove right near Sirius, freezing the man in his tracks somehow, feigning a look of surprise and not for one moment surprising Remus who often wondered how deep the Headmasters connection actually was with Hogwarts herself.

"Gentlemen, though how nice it is to see you as always, is there a reason why you are making such a noise, it is quite late you know?" Albus said in his usual calm manner though a hint of steel lined his voice.

Snapping out of whatever Dumbledore had imposed on him, slightly shocking the Headmaster, Sirius lashed his aura out at the Headmaster while screaming in a near hysterical tone of voice:

"He has him! Voldemort has Harry! Harry has been kidnapped by that monster Albus! Snape, he set Harry up. That greasy……

Sirius's shouting was cut off by the Headmaster who looking at Sirius passionately, obviously distraught at what fate became of Harry, said in a soft but firm voice.

"Now come to my office, I shall call the Order while we have a cup of tea, how about that Sirius, Remus?"

Remus nodded his head, wanting to get something done about the situation, realising that what Sirius was doing wasn't going to help them in the least but the Animagus was too far gone to care. Acting like he had not heard a single word the Headmaster had said, Sirius began to go for the dungeons again before Dumbledore, sighing heavily, levitated Sirius, in the air, effectively halting any progress he was making to the dungeons.

Sirius, stricken with grief and fury, powering his already dangerous levels of magic, lashed out at Albus in wild fury, throwing his hands out and sending bolts of Pure Magic at the Headmaster who suddenly snapped to attention, air crackling as he raised he palms the magic deflecting harmlessly towards the ceiling. Remus however wasn't so lucky and got caught full on by a stray bolt sending him straight to the ground, his body making a solid thud as his head once more took a hammering.

Never knowing when to stop, Sirius decided that to get to Snape he would have to defeat the Headmaster and at that moment, he was desperate to have his supposed vengeance and would gladly walk through the gates of hell to get that.

Deciding that he would struggle to beat Albus in a fair magic duel, Sirius surprised the old man slightly by throwing bolts of magic at him while running headlong at him, but he underestimated Albus, who flicking his wand, sent Sirius sprawling across the Entrance Hall though this only serve to enrage the man who decided that this was not going to end fast.

Curse after curse, every charm, hex and transfiguration that may give one the advantage over the other was thrown at lightning speed, wands were being waved constantly but even they gave way to just magic at its most pure, shaped with the intent of the caster.

Sirius, using his age advantage and his speed and agility was beginning to wear down the much older Headmaster who though superior in terms of sheer magic and deft for his age, was no match for the young and reckless Sirius.

Remus, who was just regaining his train of thought and full movement capabilities, decided that this was enough and raised his wand so it was pointing straight at the back of the unsuspecting Sirius.

"Resturno"

This time Remus's curse hit the target and he watched with regret as his friends body slumped to the floor, his variation of the Stunner powerful enough to take him down.

"Lets go and have a cup of tea shall we Remus, then we can have our meeting and decide on the best course of action." The weary voice of Albus drafted Remus from his reverie and the pair began to walk the short way to the Headmasters Office, the way ingrained in both of their minds, with the unconscious Sirius floating behind them.

Gargoyles opening with a mere wave of the Headmasters hand, something Remus would bet every book in his collection on that no one else could do that, not even Voldemort himself. Traipsing behind Albus, the trio rose up the staircase swiftly before settling themselves immediately in the Office, niceties forgotten, Dumbledore looking older than ever.

"So Remus, please can you start from the beginning and then I will call the Order in again, then maybe we can wake Mr. Black up." Dumbledore sighed, his haggard almost fragile frame such a bitter contrast to the vibrant magic and passion that ran through the Headmasters veins.

Talked they did. Swiftly but not leaving out anything that could be of use, Remus talked fro what seemed like hours though in reality it was much less yet a detailed observer could almost pinpoint the seconds where Dumbledore's face became more ashen and ashen until he looked like he should be in the infirmary, not spearheading a war effort.

Talking ceased, Dumbledore did something Remus had never ever witnessed from the man, he held his head in his hands and just rocked to and fro to a second before raising his head ever so slowly, eyes shining, to say the words:

"It appears there is a traitor among the Order."

**January 18th 1992**

A harsh flash of light bought Harry back to life with a thunderous start, his ribs burning furiously.

Dazed and confused, the events of the past few hours escaped him at first as he groped around in the darkness for his wand that normally never strayed out of arms reach. Still oblivious to the fact he was now a prisoner of the Dark Lord, Harry tried to sit up slowly before he realised that he couldn't move.

Then his memories hit him harder than any Bludgeoning Spell ever could.

Panic rose in his chest in hysteric proportions adding to the pain as his once droopy eyes shot open, scanning the area near to where he was being kept, wondering briefly where the flash of light came from. That was until he saw the figure in the black hooded robe and white mask.

Opening his mouth to scream in the vain hope of something happening, Harry barely got one syllable out before a Full Body Bind put an end to any noise he was going to make.

"My Lord requests your presence Potter. You filthy ungrateful Mudblood lover, the Dark Lord will make you pay for your resistance" The Death Eater spat at Harry voraciously.

Looking up from the floor where he could not now move a muscle, Harry saw the Death Eater flick his wand to end the first binding spell that held him before waving his wand and levitating his bound figure behind him through the dark as if touching him would dirty the man beyond redemption.

After a flight of dank stairs and a trip down a mouldy corridor, Harry was floated through a pair of double doors that led in to a room that was a startling contrast to what he had seen so far.

To call the room opulent would have been an exaggeration of the word. The room was fit for royalty of the highest order. A polished wooden floor of the highest quality gleamed throughout the massive hall, portraits and tapestries adorning the rich green walls while huge chandeliers shone. It was only when Harry was unceremoniously dropped to the ground with a thud, the Levitation Charm cancelled, that he saw the haunting red eyes of the Dark Lord who was seated on a magnificent throne of epic proportions trimmed in green and black.

The Death Eater who bought Harry into the room, bowed swiftly to the Dark Lord before leaving the room quickly, not wanting to do anything to anger his Lord and draw unnecessary punishment for himself.

Harry lay there on the floor for a few seconds, shivering in fear and anticipation as the adrenaline pumped through his body unbidden yet strangely welcomed as it overcame some of the fear building in him, allowing more rational thoughts cross his mind.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw the Dark Lord snap his fingers and immediately the Full Body Bind that held him where he lay was lifted.

Jumping to his feet, Harry knew there was no point in making a break for the door, one it was most definitely warded whilst it's never a good idea to turn your back on any enemy, let alone Voldemort.

The next few seconds were weird. Neither made a move, Harry because he had nothing to do and nowhere to go while Voldemort was scrutinising his child advisory with an indecipherable look, chilling Harry as the gaze of the Dark Lord seemed to piece his skin and reach to his very soul.

Then the Dark Lord seemed to break out of his reverie, and addressed Harry with a piercing stare and hissed:

"Young Harry Potter, we finally meet in person again, it has been a long time hasn't it though I can assure you this meeting won't have the same ending!"

Gathering his courage in the face of the now angering Dark Lord, Harry calmly and steadily met the gaze of the most feared wizard, ignoring his scar that was now prickling.

"What do you want from me Voldemort? Have you come to try and kill me again? An unarmed 11 year old boy, you must feel really powerful!" Harry scoffed with much more bravado than his quivering insides actually felt.

"SILENCE, you foolish child, I could kill you without moving an inch you worthless half-blood." Voldemort positively crackled with rage before mysteriously calming down." You child are a mystery to me, so young yet powerful, you could become truly great if you embraced the Dark Arts." Voldemort mused as he sized Harry up and down.

"NEVER!" Harry bellowed, unable to stop himself, all pain now gone from his ribs, adrenaline easily masking them for now.

Faster than the eye could catch Voldemort had his wand pointed at Harry and hissed "Crucio"

Trying to dodge but the Cruciatus just catching him in the leg, Harry screamed as he felt his bones melting as his blood boiled. White hot forks stabbed at his very soul whilst he head was spitting open before the pain vanished as quickly as it had come.

What must have been no longer than ten seconds passed whilst Harry was held under the curse yet his body lay panting on the floor, gasping for air. Struggling to his knees, Harry saw the Dark Lord again looking at him with an intense stare.

"Respect your betters child," Voldemort hissed before pulling what Harry recognised as his Sword and his two wands from somewhere inside his robes, "So many weapons for a young boy, tell me what do you intend to do now you have nothing, not brave now are we. Just like your parents." The Dark Lord mocked, holding his wands up as if taunting Harry to take them somehow as he came closer to Harry, daring him with his eyes to try and take them from his loose grasp.

That is exactly what Harry did.

Regaining his feet, Harry narrowed his eyes in cold fury before throwing his hand out and intoning "Accio Wands"

The shock on Voldemorts face was priceless as both wands shot out of his grasp and to their rightful owner who grabbed his wand out of the gratefully and as the Secondary Wand went back to its holster, Harry screamed:

"Blaso Maxi"

The Curse shot towards Voldemort who in the split seconds since the wands left his hand till Harry shot off the curse had done nothing and had no chance to move, the curse striking him dead on though to the puzzlement of Harry it only sent the Dark Lord stumbling back, a look of brief pain crossing his face instead of sending him flying.

Sending an Earthquake Hex towards the feet of the stumbling Dark Lord, Harry capitalised and watched with a certain satisfaction as this sent the Dark Lord sprawling to the floor.

Sensing this his one and only chance, Harry bolted for the door and using a curse he recently read about, sending the door sprawling of it's hinges, wards avoided by the solid object Striking Spell. Loathing turning his back but having no other choice, Harry ran the short distance to the door hearing the enraged cry of Voldemort behind him and on instinct rolled forward, the wave of black magic flying above him, smashing the wall to pieces in the corridor, drawing a huge sigh of relief from Harry who shuddered to think what effect it would have had on him had it struck him.

Unfortunately this had the effect of drawing all the attention in wherever they were to the location Harry was and he barely got ten steps down the corridor before the nearest door opened and three Death Eaters piled out.

It was hard to say who was more shocked, Voldemort when Harry summoned the wands or the Death Eaters seeing that Harry had escaped Voldemort. Regardless, Harry used their moment of hesitation to his advantage. Sending the same Earthquake Hex at the Death Eaters as he had done to the Dark Lord, Harry followed up by pointing his wand at the wall nearest to the Death Eaters and crying:

"Elabro"

The wall exploded into pieces, huge chunks of plaster flying everywhere distracting the Death Eaters making it easy for Harry to finish the job.

"Arcdul"

A variation if the Stunner flew out from the tip of his wand in a wide arc and while still less powerful than the original, Harry had practised it enough so that it would knock out anyone it came into contact with though for a shorter period of time admittedly.

Not bothering to look back, Harry briefly tried apparating with no success, not surprising him in the slightest before he began to run down the corridor towards any exit, but alas it seemed he was either underground or in a huge manor as Harry couldn't see any windows or any means of exit.

Suddenly a loud siren began wailing, nearly making the skittish Harry start cursing before he realised that whatever that noise was, it was not good for him, corner after corner he turned, seemingly getting nowhere before he passed through what looked like a sitting room, dodging down a corridor and then in to a study to escape from a pair of Death Eaters who thankfully had not seen him.

Then his stupidity hit him and Harry thanked his lucky stars that he had not been caught yet before casting an Invisibility Charm on himself. He hoped that it wouldn't take him that long to escape as he couldn't hold the charm for longer than a few minutes and he was still very faintly see able but barely so that the human eye could notice. Then pointing his wand straight at his own chest, Harry hissed out the most powerful healing spell he knew short of the Aurors infamous Quick Heal spell and nearly screamed in pain as his ribs seemed to bend inside his body, a scream barely tapped in his throat.

Casting a Silencing Charm on his feet, Harry bounded down the corridor, coming to a flight of stairs leading upwards; add more plausibility to the theory that he was indeed underground. Taking the stairs two at a time, Harry was unfortunate to come across a Death Eater running down them and with no where to go, Harry had Stunned the man who never knew what had hit him.

Bounding up another flight of stairs, thankfully escaping any more confrontations with Death Eaters, Harry made it up to what must have been the Entrance Hall. Obviously whoever who had had the house built cared a lot about first impressions, the Entrance Hall was full of magnificent paintings and tapestries, the ceiling at least 25ft high topped by the most beautiful of lights, sending eerie shivers through Harry as he cautiously made his way towards the front door, praying that the wards didn't extend too far.

He needn't worry though as he would never make it that far. Getting within a hundred feet of the front door, Harry suddenly felt a wave of magic wash over him that he knew to be that of a ward being crossed and Harry cursed loudly, betting his life that he had just tripped some ward.

Confirmed in his beliefs, Death Eaters began pouring in from everywhere including the front doors, effectively cutting off any easy way of exit for Harry. The only advantage that he still held was that he was invisible but casting spells while under it was draining and he was beginning to get worn out just by holding the charm up.

Puzzled by the lack of a visual on Harry, some of the Death Eaters were openly confused but much to Harry's chagrin, some of the higher ranking Death Eaters must have been present as they held calculating looks on their eyes before one of them began chanting something in Latin. Harry recognised it immediately as a spell that would effectively render his invisibility obsolete, so dropping all pretences of hiding; Harry decided to beat the Death Eaters to the punch. Raising his wand muttering the counter spell, Harry decided that the best plan would be to try and barrel his way through the door and try to seek obscurity in the grounds.

"Explodro" Harry screamed; startling the nearest Death Eaters as the Exploding Curse crashed into them, sending the majority of them flying, only the more astute ones managing to raise a shield in time.

Cursing as quick as he possibly could, Harry used the most powerful and destructive curses that he knew, knowing that it could well be his life he was fighting for but with every Death Eater he injured, two fresh ones seemed to take their place and this was beginning to annoy and frighten him to no end.

Plaster was everywhere as curse after curse flew thick at Harry who was making it nowhere fast, dust was everywhere but it was hindering him more than helping him. A Hammer Curse slipped past his shield, sending him stumbling, just able to raise a shield against a Bone Breaker but unable to hold firm against two Strike Spells sending his wand tumbling briefly before he quickly summoned it back before the Death Eaters did but paid the price, another Hammer Spell striking him in his already broken ribs, sending spasms of pain coursing through his body.

Beyond caring and frantic like a caged wild animal, Harry rolled to the left to avoid four indiscernible spells before sending spell after spell at the Death Eaters nearest him, watching with morbid satisfaction as two crumbled under successive Bone Breakers, while one fell under a Reducto, blood and bone spraying on his disgusted comrade, distracting him enough so that Harry could hit him with a Blasting Curse.

Suddenly, the fog cleared and Harry still saw more Death Eaters than he could easily count. Sagging slightly on the inside, Harry barely dodged a purple curse before having to shield against two Stunners, the shield and his energy weakening with every second.

The once pristine Entrance Hall was now think, with blood, grime and broken bodies amongst other things, a desecration of something magnificent but Harry couldn't care less, another Cutting Curse slicing his arm open though he didn't feel a thing.

Spinning round, Harry barely dodged a Throat Cutting Hex, before being caught with a powerful Banishment Charm. Skidding through the now slick Entrance Hall floor, Harry's vision went blank for a moment and when he came back, a witch who looked vaguely familiar raised her wand and incandescent fury coursed through him but to no good as Bellatrix's cold clipped word rang out through the hall.

"Crucio"

**AN**

**Thank you my dear readers for all your words of support and yes I am still around and yes this story is near completion, just two more chapters to go!!! I've just realised my ending is quite clichéd, hope u don't mind too much!**

**I do update my BIO page with how I'm doing in regard to my stories so check there if you're worried that I have fallen off the face of the Earth…again**

**I haven't been looking at my story plan for a while and when I came to check it was a pleasant surprise to find that half of what should have been this chapter was put in the last chapter, it allows me to put something in which I originally thought I'd have to cut out!**

**I have a LJ and a Yahoo Group if you want any questions answered, JOIN NOW, links on my BIO.**

**REVIEWER RESPONCES**

**Lil**** Miss Potter: I hope this chapter soothed your concerns, I couldn't leave you all hanging for that long, I'm not that evil, well actually…….**

**Lady Foxfire: Happy Ending of course, if not for anyone else then just for you, how's that for reviewer loyalty?**

**Jeanne2: I agree about Harry and his power levels, while I have made him very powerful, he is by no means unbeatable. I think you were right in your assumption of Sirius and Remus and their reactions, grins**

**Yana5: Oh faithful reviewer, Dumbledore wiped their memories because they did not believe him about the innocence of Sirius and Remus words and therefore couldn't be trusted with the information in fear of them leaking it to the press or worse the Ministry.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers who encouraged me to get this chapter done as soon as possible, making me miss most of my favourite hobby, sleep, in the process of doing so.**

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS**

**Cheers**

**Halstead**


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